Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I'm on the opposite end of the world

I'm not just referring to the geographic location. EVERYTHING is opposite here. Honestly though, aside from the fact that India is a strong democratic society (Learn something new everyday!), the things they do here are opposite, for example: They drive on the left side of the road, our night is their day, public doors are opened by pushing them, dinner is considered to be a small meal, the south is more developed than the north, road bikes are more common than cars, and pedestrians yield to cars. On that note, Carly and I tried crossing the street today... NOT doing that again.

We've met 5 students from the National Management School and they've been very hospitable to us and informative about random and interesting cultural norms. One in particular is very bright and tells us a lot about the comparisons of India and the U.S. during our car rides home. It is much either to understand India when you're contrasting it to the U.S.

Throughout the day, we learn lots of fun facts about India. Here are some fun facts:

  • Appreciate paying taxes. In India, people pay even more tax and do not see any perks from the government. They're roads are not clean, traffic is not regulated, and as I mentioned earlier, there are no government assistant programs.
  • Many people retire at age 60. The day you turn 60, the end of that month is your last day.
  • Former british control left the people of Chennai feeling very belittled and inferior, even the most successful Indian is not given adequate respect in London today.
  • Cricket is THE sport. Nobody knows what the heck baseball is.
  • Young people stop living at home around age 27, some stay even after marriage.
  • When saying a phone number, if there are two or three numbers in a row, it is pronounced double or tripple. (ie 44320006 would be "double four, three, two, triple zero, six)
And here are some fun pictures!
This isn't as common as you think, today was my first day seeing this.

We're afraid to go to level -1

NMS student ID


Everything is written in English as well.

$92 equals over 4,000 repees. The only time you'll see me with this much money, or this big of a bill.

An eastern sunset



3 comments:

  1. Love reading your adventures and seeing the pictures. Need more pictures that include you!

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  2. P.S. Thank you for calling this morning since I missed your call last night. I sure do miss and love you <3

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  3. Brit... I did not expect you to narrate "exactly" the way you experience. You gotta exaggerate a little ;)

    Anyways, am glad that your learning so much. Hope it gets even more exciting when you travel more in India

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