Initial Observations

1. The cows know they are treated like royalty and seem to take every opportunity to prove it as they plod across the road perfectly at their ease, and stop to ponder life in the middle of traffic.
   
   
2. Honking while driving is a way of life. As Daya says: “In the west, people honk when something’s wrong. In India, if you don’t hear honking, something’s wrong.”
3. Perhaps the most uncomfortable thing about not using toilet paper is that after you use the hose everything is always wet.
   
   
4. Germans (to avoid generalizing, I’ll say the German volunteers I have met since being in India) are both admirably and annoyingly adjustable.
   
   
5. Since eating with your hands is protocol, all restaurants have sinks strategically placed in the dining room for washing purposes.
6. Indian men make the most vile sound I’ve ever heard. It’s a mix between obnoxiously clearing their throat and violently coughing up an imaginary hairball. It’s been a rather unpleasant wake up call the past two weeks.
7. Rickshaws, also called autos or tuk tuks, are the most brilliant invention ever. Though the lack of traffic laws in India make this dwarf vehicle particularly unsafe, it is still as amusing as cruising around in a high velocity golf cart (T & K, you know what I mean.)
   
8. Indians have artfully mastered how to pour water out of a cup or bottle into their mouths without letting their lips touch the surface, which would be considered unsanitary, and without spilling a drop. The dribbles on my chin and shirt prove that I have failed to obtain this skill.
9. We are required to cover our shoulders and legs to about mid calf at all times. Although this seems a bit restricting, it is surprising how quickly I’ve gotten accustomed to dressing modestly. The other day we were in our hotel room so I was wearing gym shorts. A few male volunteers stopped by and I couldn’t help but think about how much skin I was showing.
   
   
10. On the other hand, I will never get used to being treated unequally due to my sex. On several occasions at our my job site, my male co-volunteer is acknowledged and given preference over me. Any questions about the English language are directed towards him even though I am the native speaker.
11. You can never go wrong with Indian “meals.” Every restaurant we’ve been too has a dish called a meal which includes rice, a crispy wonton thing, poori (fried dough - delicious), an assortment of vegetables and sauces that vary from restaurant to restaurant, yogurt, and, if you’re lucky, a sweet banana/coconut pudding. They are very cheap and very tasty.
    
    
12. For reasons beyond my understanding, there always seems to be some type of festival underway in India. There is always a reason to eat, dance, and revel in the streets. Not a bad way to live.
    
    
13. Men are highly affectionate with one another. It is not rare to see men holding hands or walking with their arms around each other. They also dress how men in America dressed in the 70’s.
14. Indian people are very curious and anxious to talk to me and the other volunteers, mainly because we are such an uncommonly pale spectacle. I half expected this, but the questions they ask us caught me off guard. In no particular order, some include:
1. “What is your father name? What is your mother name?” (When children ask, its more like “Mommy name? Daddy name?”)
2. “What God is yours?” (Meaning are you Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc)
3. “Did you eat breakfast/lunch? What did you eat?”
4. “What is your local language?”
15. The head wobble is unique and endearing Indian maneuver that my friends and I are determined to adopt. Sometimes the meaning can be tricky to decipher, but in general it means OK or Yes. 
16. Indian women are above and beyond the most beautiful people I have ever seen. They have thick lashes framing dark eyes, and heavy, long dark hair usually plaited modestly down their backs. Stunning.
    
    
17. Haggling is the preferred economic style and I am decidedly terrible at it. It requires a ruthless desire to one up the other person, whether you are the buyer or the seller, and a tenacity that is elusive to me.