observations

before I even get started I want to make one thing really clear, the following are just the written form of observations - it is far away from any kind of judgment, insult or rudeness. It's not even a statement, just some observations about the daily life in India, which are quite interesting to me.

Observation 1)
If someone sneezes, nobody says anything. You will not hear a "Bless You". Although it's a shame to me, but more and more people don't say it in Switzerland anymore, either.
Now, the funny observation though is, that sometimes, the person who sneezes says: "Sorry", "Excuse Me" or whatever. That is because they disturbed your thoughts with that sneeze, it's an awful noise or interrupted the silence.
Natural noises though leads me to

observation number 2)
Farting, burping, peeing on the street and men scratching between the legs is the most common thing ever. The other day when we talked to the landlord about the Air Condition that was still broken, the passed gas in a loudness and like a duck takes to water.
Looking at my friend who stood some stairs above we had to self-control ourselves a lot in order to not burst out laughing...

Observation 3)
In general, people here in India never say hello, thank you or good bye.
No matter where I go, might it be in a shop, buying some items, in the supermarket, in the taxi, recharging my phone... whatever interaction I have with Indians, of course I greet them at the beginning, say thank you and good bye or have a nice evening at the end of the interaction. Sure, the Rickshaw driver doesn't speak English but hello and good bye they definitively know. But I never get nothing back! Which is so strange to me, I'm telling you. To me it's just the most common thing and so far I quite took it for granted. But as I realize it here, this kind of politeness is not as naturally as I though - such as pretty much nothing is self-evident in this world I guess...

A certain kind of ungratefulness is also visible on the street.
Something I hate so much is that certain part of my way getting to work, where the beggars are. Since there is so much traffic, my taxi has to stop there most of the time. Whereas the mendicants might only stand for a short time at an Indian's car, whenever they see white people, they become so imprudent and won't go away before you give them something.
As a matter of fact, you shouldn't give them something.
Well, that's at least the general Indian perspective on that issue. As long as they are healthy, the general viewpoint is that they should get some work and not be begging on the street, since there is a huge mafia behind it and a lot of them spend the money on alcohol and drugs... The well-known conflict and problem...
Anyhow, I often give them money, just because I cannot handle it, them knocking and touching the window, pulling their sad faces and making movements of hungriness. I know, it's their profession, they know how to do it and how to get to the money. But still, it's so damn heartbreaking to me that I just cannot sit there ignoring them. That's basically why I rather give some money, which eases my consciousness, makes me feel like helping a little bit and also makes them leave which gives me my freedom back.

But the other day, when I gave some 5 Rupees to that girl she kept standing there asking for more. Sure, 5 Rupees is not that much, about 15 Cents - but it's a fair amount of money giving to a panhandler here in India. The fact that she wasn't pleased with that and kept asking me for more made me really mad! Seeing such ungratefulness drives me up the wall and although the girl obviously didn't understand English, I told her off so much that she even wanted to give me the money back. She might not have gotten my point but still I hope that the situation in India is going to change in the near future. The potential is there, that's for sure.

I know the world is an unfair place. The more I see of it the more I realize that.
I reckon this might be the reason why I'm becoming an even more grateful person, aware of what I have, how privileged I am and all the things that are not for granted.

Hema, a friend from work keeps saying, that I might become a next Che Guevara after my road trip...
who knows...