The Indian Speaks(6)

A is in Europe!!!!! 😀 Well, when I spoke to him this morning he was in Brussels and then was flying to Strasbourg where he is going to live from now on. So, this is A’s first time ever in Europe and so far he’s done really well. At Brussels, he was at the airport and didn’t have the time or the opportunity to go out much. I asked him to name 5 things that stood out to him as being ‘different’ once you step out of India! And here’s his list.

1. He says he saw many dustbins all around him. This was great because then one wouldn’t find it difficult to dump the trash in the bin. In India, this isn’t the case. While walking on the streets one sees far fewer dustbins and sometimes you have to carry trash in your hand/pocket for miles before you actually find a bin to throw it. And then we complain that it’s a dirty place….come on, Indian government…just put more bins around!!!!!
2. Everyone that he crossed paths with smiled at him. He was right. it did feel strange to me too at first. But then, I realised that not smiling or not acknowledging is the abnormal thing to do. We walk past thousands of people every day. Why not smile at them? Why not be nice and polite? A found it very endearing that ‘thanks’ and ‘sorry’ were not just a part of everybody’s vocabulary but these two words were used too!! : It’s not that people in India don’t apologise for their faults or don’t appreciate favours. But saying thanks to the shopkeeper when buying a bottle of water, for example, isn’t a common thing.
3. A found it amazing that while everyone was polite, everyone had a sense of ‘space’. When he sat at the airport talking to me on a video call, nobody peeked into his phone. And even people looking for a place to sit wouldn’t sit right next to him as they gave him his space! : In India, there’s almost no way around uncles and aunties trying to eavesdrop on your conversation, or the free advice that follows.
4. A tiny meal cost him 7 Euros!!!! Haha….life in India is super cheap compared to the life we live abroad. A good meal can often be the equivalent of merely 2-4 Euros. Sure, there are the overly priced restaurants around too but a decent one with delicious authentic food would be priced at 2-4 Euros at the most!
5. The weather!!!!! A found it cold, obviously! But it can be a pretty striking thing, come to think of it! The difference in daylight hours between summer and winter, the crisp chillness, snow if there is any… (A hasn’t seen snow ever, so I guess he’s super excited about winters at the moment but let’s see how he takes the big decrease in daylight hours!!!)