These lists apply mostly to Bilaspur, a place I am not too fond of. India is a big place, and the conditions aren't the same everywhere. Taking "I don't like Bilaspur" to mean "I don't like India" is the same as taking "I don't like Camden" to mean "I don't like America." I hope to return someday as a tourist, and I'm sure I will have a wonderful time.
Things I won't miss
Moquitos: every night I kill around 30 of them as they fly around and try to bite me. They fly low and stay out of sight and then get your feet. Since the buildings don't have climate control, there is no reason to have insulation or even windows that close. So the mosquitos can jusy fly right in and bite.
Buses: Bus drivers drive like they don't get paid unless they're maniacs, so they're always barrelling down the road at too high a speed and passing in inappropriate places. Unless they are picking up/dropping off passenegers, and they'll stop wherever they want, traffic be damned.
Horns: Horns here aren't "push the button for the beep", they're "flip the switch for the cacaphony". They are used all the time.
My celebrity status: I stand out everywhere. If someone wants to say hello or snap a quick picture, thats fine. Sometimes they try to drag me into long conversations or take me over somewhere else to meet their family. Thats not so fine.
The heat: Last summer the high was 48 degrees C. I refuse to convert that into Fahrenheit, but I think thats the temperature for slow-cooking BBQ pork.
Sanitation: Open sewers that overflow daily in monsoon. Eww. Also, people doing their business (both one and two) everywhere, and in plain sight. This may be a cultural thing, but my cultural programming says "eww". I have no plans on reprogramming.
Festivals: There are more festival days than non-festival days. There are so many that most half the time no one can tell us what the festival actually is. I suspect its part of some kind of prank, and/or an excuse to get drunk and make noise all night.
Random signature gathering: the other day I went to use the ATM, and as I was walking out the security guard pointed to the register to have me enter my name, bank, celll phone number and signature. It was the first time this had happened... why do they need these records? Can't they electronically track who's sticking cards into the machine? There is also a habit of when a meeting is announced (work, or in the apartment building) of someone coming around to get signatures. They are rather instant, and I'm not sure if they just want confirmation that you were notified, or if it indicates you will attend. Also, sometimes shopkeepers want you to sign YOUR copy of the receipt. Makes no sense.
Things I'll Miss
Cheap prices: The other day I went to the market and bought rice and vegetables. Three dinners worth of veggies for 2 people was under $1.50, and the rice was $2.50 for 6.5 pounds, enough to last about 3 weeks. Haircuts are under 50 cents, and as I've mentioned we have a woman who cooks/does dishes/sweeps and wipes the floor for about $20/month.
Monkeys: They haven't been around in awhile, but they sometimes hang around the neighborhood. I was trying to think of good things about Bilaspur. The best I could come up with was "they have some monkeys". (Second place was "the mosquitos don't carry malaria")
Both ways:
The food: Indian food is very good. I like Indian food. However, I am not eating "Indian Food," I am eating a narrow regional cuisine. I am sick of white rice and potato curry and the same 5 or 6 vegetables. I still haven't figured out breakfast. (Idlis and dosas are good, but I don't make them at home). A lot of the culture, including the food culture, seems dependent on having a woman to wake up early and do a bunch of housework.
Customer Service: Customer service is personalized and attentive. When shopping for clothes/fabrics, you sit and they'll bring you dozens of options. The success of this depends how on-the-ball the shopkeeper is. Sometimes they will listen to what you are looking for an expertly guide your selection. Sometimes they will bring you things randomly in desparate effort to please. If you are unlucky, your feedback will actually result in the opposite of what should happen - "I don't like the flowers... do you have plain patterns?" and they bring more flowers, or "I don't like the the purple, what do you have in yellow?" and they bring every hue of purple you could imagine.
Things I won't miss
Moquitos: every night I kill around 30 of them as they fly around and try to bite me. They fly low and stay out of sight and then get your feet. Since the buildings don't have climate control, there is no reason to have insulation or even windows that close. So the mosquitos can jusy fly right in and bite.
Buses: Bus drivers drive like they don't get paid unless they're maniacs, so they're always barrelling down the road at too high a speed and passing in inappropriate places. Unless they are picking up/dropping off passenegers, and they'll stop wherever they want, traffic be damned.
Horns: Horns here aren't "push the button for the beep", they're "flip the switch for the cacaphony". They are used all the time.
My celebrity status: I stand out everywhere. If someone wants to say hello or snap a quick picture, thats fine. Sometimes they try to drag me into long conversations or take me over somewhere else to meet their family. Thats not so fine.
The heat: Last summer the high was 48 degrees C. I refuse to convert that into Fahrenheit, but I think thats the temperature for slow-cooking BBQ pork.
Sanitation: Open sewers that overflow daily in monsoon. Eww. Also, people doing their business (both one and two) everywhere, and in plain sight. This may be a cultural thing, but my cultural programming says "eww". I have no plans on reprogramming.
Festivals: There are more festival days than non-festival days. There are so many that most half the time no one can tell us what the festival actually is. I suspect its part of some kind of prank, and/or an excuse to get drunk and make noise all night.
Random signature gathering: the other day I went to use the ATM, and as I was walking out the security guard pointed to the register to have me enter my name, bank, celll phone number and signature. It was the first time this had happened... why do they need these records? Can't they electronically track who's sticking cards into the machine? There is also a habit of when a meeting is announced (work, or in the apartment building) of someone coming around to get signatures. They are rather instant, and I'm not sure if they just want confirmation that you were notified, or if it indicates you will attend. Also, sometimes shopkeepers want you to sign YOUR copy of the receipt. Makes no sense.
Things I'll Miss
Cheap prices: The other day I went to the market and bought rice and vegetables. Three dinners worth of veggies for 2 people was under $1.50, and the rice was $2.50 for 6.5 pounds, enough to last about 3 weeks. Haircuts are under 50 cents, and as I've mentioned we have a woman who cooks/does dishes/sweeps and wipes the floor for about $20/month.
Monkeys: They haven't been around in awhile, but they sometimes hang around the neighborhood. I was trying to think of good things about Bilaspur. The best I could come up with was "they have some monkeys". (Second place was "the mosquitos don't carry malaria")
Both ways:
The food: Indian food is very good. I like Indian food. However, I am not eating "Indian Food," I am eating a narrow regional cuisine. I am sick of white rice and potato curry and the same 5 or 6 vegetables. I still haven't figured out breakfast. (Idlis and dosas are good, but I don't make them at home). A lot of the culture, including the food culture, seems dependent on having a woman to wake up early and do a bunch of housework.
Customer Service: Customer service is personalized and attentive. When shopping for clothes/fabrics, you sit and they'll bring you dozens of options. The success of this depends how on-the-ball the shopkeeper is. Sometimes they will listen to what you are looking for an expertly guide your selection. Sometimes they will bring you things randomly in desparate effort to please. If you are unlucky, your feedback will actually result in the opposite of what should happen - "I don't like the flowers... do you have plain patterns?" and they bring more flowers, or "I don't like the the purple, what do you have in yellow?" and they bring every hue of purple you could imagine.
