Thursday, December 02, 2004
0 comments- Instead of nodding up-and-down to indicate "I understand" or "Yes, that's correct," Indians roll their heads in something like a left-to-right figure eight motion. It was terrifying, because for the first two days I thought that people were disagreeing with even the simplest statements that I was making.
- Milk has a higher boiling temperature than water. Indian tea and coffee are made primarily with milk, and thus VERY hot. If you enjoy caffeine, like me, you won't find a fix from these two. The good news is that Mountain Dew is widely sold (I guess the citrus taste agrees with the palette?)
- I have learned that I speak English with a heavy American accent. For example, if I say, "Mountain Dew", (which probably reads like Mountin-Do) nobody will understand me. But if I say, "Mow-ten Dewwww" (rising the Dewwww an octave or two) it's a jackpot. Sometimes Kaushal or Akshay will speak to me, and I won't have any idea what they are saying for a few minutes until I suddenly "click" into their accent. Another example is that if I say, "Thank you for a great dinner. May I have the bill please?" I will be met with a blank response from the restaurant staff. If I say, "May I have the bill please?" the waiter will think that I want some cheese. And if I simply bark out an order in the form of, "Bill!" then I will get my bill, and the waiter will be happy to bring it to me, because he understood exactly what I was asking for.
- I usually get identified as British or German, which makes me wonder- what does an American look like?
- Have I mentioned how nice people are and how good the food is?
- Indians talk a lot. Sometimes it is so much talking that I get overwhelmed and tired. I think this has to do with being friendly and smart.
- There are web cafes on just about every corner in the city. For the most part, they are slow. Except for the Reliance WebWorld franchises, which are very fast.
- My strong dollar goes very far.
- After a day of driving around Pune, the towel that I wash my face with will be black with dust and dirt and smoke. It's not as bad in Mumbai, because the roads in Mumbai are more paved and there are less motorbikes.
- Living rooms and roadways employ fluorescent tube lighting.
- Silence in a group situation is not awkward.
- Only use your right hand at the table - keep your left hand in your lap. Do not drink any beverages during your meal, only after you finish. These two
rulespieces of advice took some getting used to. - The old adage that "You can tell how a city's economy is doing by the number of large cranes downtown" doesn't apply to Mumbai, since most construction involves at least 90% human labor. But maybe there's a new rule - "You can tell how much development is happening by the number of cement billboards as you enter the city." By that account, Mumbai's making a lot of progress.
- I like this place.
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