Things I Have Learned (So Far)

I’m trying this blog thing again, and I figured this may be a good topic. Moving to India has been both the easiest thing and the hardest thing I have ever done. Easy – because I finally got to be with my totally awesome husband and live in an exotic country for a while. Hard – because I had to leave behind my totally awesome family and live in an exotic country for a while. I am still adjusting to the cultural differences, and I’ll probably still be adjusting to those differences when the time comes for us to leave here. And when I say “adjusting,” what I mean is if there is something I don’t like or don’t want to do, I’ll dig in my stubborn American heels until my husband points out that it doesn’t matter if I don’t want to or don’t like it, it’s going to happen no matter what because that’s just how it is. Also, I feel in my process of adjusting I have become irrational about really stupid things. How else can I explain bursting in to hysterical tears when I see tons of ants on my kitchen counter? Or, better yet, my epic temper tantrum when the power goes out for the fifth time in one day? I should probably stop making myself sound bad. And, honestly, most of the time, I am going with the flow over here. It’s more rare than not when I have a moment of stubbornness. Because, if you’re not willing to go with the flow, you will not like India. It’s loud and it’s brash, and it’s peaceful and quiet, and it’s overpopulated, and it’s full of magical wilderness, and it’s full of the most beautiful sights and it’s full of heartbreaking poverty. You get my point.  Anyway, cue the list of things I have learned so far while living in India (this will be an ongoing thing):

1. You can live happily with a lot less than you think. For me, this may be because Zac and I have been living in a temporary situation since October 2012, but still, it’s been one of (if not the most) the important things I have learned while living here. When Zac and I moved in to our house, all we had was a bed, because we were told Zac’s institute’s hostel would be ready in a few weeks, and we would have a furnished apartment there. When those few weeks passed, we were told it would be a few more weeks, and so on and so forth, and now we have come to April and still no completed hostel. So, all we had for the first two and a half months was a bed. The bed was followed slowly by a refrigerator, which was followed by the internet, so I would have something to do during the day. But that’s it. That’s all we have – bed, fridge, and internet. And it’s been awesome in a lot of ways. Zac and I spend so much time talking or cooking together instead of zoning out in front of the television (although now we have a way to watch CSI:NY every night hehe). I’ve got to be honest – most things we own are unnecessary. But, on the other hand, there are times when I daydream about having a washing machine.
2. You’ll do things you never, ever thought you would do. I’m just going to name these off – ate fish with its head still attached, learned to clean fish without wanting to vomit, rode an elephant, bathed an elephant, kayaked on the sea, killed spiders the size of human hand, killed cockroaches that were quite large too, not killed other spiders in hopes they would take care of the ant problem, watched salamanders climb the wall to eat said spiders that you were hoping would kill said ants, washing clothes by hand, taking cold showers every morning.
3. There really is a world outside of the United States. For real.
   Like, really. And they are just as proud of their culture and country as you are, if not more so. This also means that India does some things better than the US. For example, public transportation (trains, buses, and auto-rickshaws), healthcare (affordability of care anyway), and education are leaps above what the US has.
4. Stuff is actually pretty normal here. I’m talking Western standards. I remember, before I left, I had people asking, half-jokingly, “Do they, y’know, drive cars over there?” The answer to that is “YES.” There are cars. Plenty of cars with all of the different bells and whistles that US cars have. Something else I’ve noticed, with great pleasure, is they have hilariously dumb commercials like we do. Check this one out – and this one too – and then this last one – LOVE. Moving on from commercials, in the cities, they have coffee shops everywhere with baristas, just like home (I don’t even know if they are called “baristas” here.) And, in the various stores I have been to, they have 8 million different types of face cream that I can’t decide on….just like home!

Many things are easy to deal with here – many others are not so easy, extremely difficult even. But, please, stick with me on here as I fumble my way in to adapting to India. And bear with me as I learn how to write for an audience again. I haven’t done this since college. I promise I won’t be preachy in all of my posts – most of the time I’ll just want to share my adventures.