India: the Good, the Bad and the Funny

A few more interesting things I noticed in the last week:

1. I went to a movie and there was an intermission! I saw the movie Kites and the first half was 90% Hindi and 10% English so I was having a hard time following exactly what was happening, but all of a sudden there was a scene that was lasting longer than the others and in the right hand corner it said "Intermission". There was about a 5 minute break to get snacks or whatever. Interesting idea, but I think you can last 2 hours without needing to move or eat.
2. At the movie I heard about 5 people answer their phones and have a conversation after they let them ring out load! Not a welcome difference.
3. We went to pick up food for a lunch and we went to the restaurant and honked outside and they took our order and then brought it out to us! Neat.
4. Questions that you wouldn't ask in the USA or UK, but would look for signs or wait to get to know someone are asked freely such as: Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? When are you getting married? Can't wait when all someone has to do is check out the ring finger to know the answer again.
5. I think servants are the key to having a great party- no clean-up, food when you want it, ice refills, bed ready when you get home with water next to it, breakfast in the morning... I love it.
6. I was really sick one day and I have gotten used to living alone or with roommates who ask you if you are ok and then feel bad, but don't so anything. I am not sure if it's a difference in culture or having a big family, but at Arush's every single person asked how I was, got me medicine, kept trying to feed me and was genuinely concerned about how I was doing. It was really nice!
7. I haven't had to explain why I am a vegetarian or worry about what I might be able to eat in two weeks!

Amber Fort Jaipur: you enter traditionally on elephants.... for a price of course

Finally, there is a funny story that happened while I was traveling with my driver. On his dashboard he had a picture of a man who is waving and it was obviously a religious symbol. I don't know a lot about Eastern religions and I was curious to learn more about whomever this man was and what religion he represented. I was tired and hot when I asked the driver: "So who is this guy?" pointing to the man in the picture, not meaning to say guy as it is a slang term. He explained that this "guy" is a god of the Sikh religion- the 10th guru and then went on to explain a little about it to me.

It wasn't until 2 full days later that I learned "guy" sounds exactly like gaay, the Hindi word for cow.

Yep I'm petting a cobra

Other Updates:

Today is my last day in India. I am leaving for London tomorrow morning and then I will be there for a few days. Then it's back to the USA! I will be in NYC June 5th! I am going to take a Spanish class and take some time to make sure that moving to Colombia is the definite right thing to do and it seems like wasting a summer in the USA would be a shame since I love the warm weather! I am looking forward to the freedom of NYC and the ability to have anything that you want at anytime of the day! Oh America...

Some of the elephants at the Amber Fort were painted very beautifully!