Some random observations from the trip as we prepare to depart from India…
Conversation on a street corner:
Stranger: Hello sir, what country?
Me: America.
Stranger: Congratulations.
Conversation at a hotel restaurant (on the third night eating there):
Shashwati: Please don’t use so much oil tonight.
Cook: Madame, we use only the finest quality oil.
I had many similar confusions trying to refuse caffinated beverages.
Host: Would you like some tea?
Me: No thanks, I don’t drink caffine.
Host: Coffee?
Me: (Shake my head.)
Shashwati: He doesn’t drink any caffine — no tea, no coffee.
Host: Coke?
I can’t quote the conversation with the rickshaw driver we hired on several occasions to take us to Chharanagar, because it was in Hindi, but he basically tried to tell us not to go there because “they are all crooks there.” He tried to cheat us on the fare…
Some observations:
- No assigned seats on domestic flights is a bad thing.
- Using biodegradable clay cups instead of plastic is a good thing.
- Burning all your garbage (including plastic) is a bad thing.
- Having things fixed (by a tailor or shoe repair man, etc.) instead of throwing them away is a good thing.
- Review mirrors mounted on the outside of a car don’t last long in India.