People say that India is about as opposite to the USA culturally that you can get. So after about a month of living in an Indian village, there are some things, cultural and others not cultural, which have carved themselves into my memory. Here are a few in no particular order:
- The Indoor Bathroom- We stayed in a house in the village where the living area was one big room. The room contained two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and two bathrooms. The only separation between these spaces were concrete dividers that were about 5 feet high. Needless to say, there was little privacy while going to the bathroom.
- The “Outdoor Bathroom”- The house had the living area on the first floor and a space for church on the second floor, which is where our team stayed. The stairs were on the outside of the house, so at night when everyone went to bed, the family would lock the first floor and we would lock our floor. Since the bathrooms were on the first floor, we would have to use the “outdoor bathroom”. I guess what they say about Rome goes for India too.
- Community- Whereas most Americans prefer alone time every once in a while, Indians love to be around each other all the time. Being on the World Race for 8 months now, we’ve had a good dose of community…we can’t go anywhere alone! This month in India took community to a whole new level. One day I was in my tent reading on the second floor, and a man had come in to the room, walked up to everyone’s tents to say hello, and snapped a picture of us before he left. It wasn’t uncommon to have the neighbors drop in throughout the month to tour our room, take pictures, and pray. The constant community was at times funny, but other times challenging, especially when you’re craving time with nobody else around.
- Dress Code- In India, it’s scandalous to show your ankles and your shoulders, but you can show your stomach. Even when swimming, women have to cover up completely.
- White=Paparazzi- Where we were, most people have never seen a white person. Whether we were at the bus stop or buying clothes that were culturally appropriate, people would crowd around us, stare, and take pictures. We even made it into a few local newspapers.
- Eating with Hands- India doesn’t use silverware. They use what the good Lord gave them…their hands. Our host mom gave us spoons to eat with when she cooked for us, but when we ate at others’ homes, we ate with our hands…unless you’re me. I had such a difficult time eating my rice with my hands that the woman that fed us had to bring me a spoon. This also happened in Vietnam when I failed to eat with chopsticks.
- Teacup Sizes- The size of the cups that Indians use for tea are about the size of a shot glass.
- The Head Nod- Instead of nodding up and down for saying “yes” or assuring that you’re following along with what the other person is saying, the Indian people make an infinity shaped motion with their head (kind of like a bobble head). So many times when they were saying “yes”, I thought they were saying “no”.
Photo Cred Jenny Kuehni
