Random Indian observations

So after spending a month in India, you'd think I'd have formed some kind of opinion of the place, right? Not even close! I still have absolutely no idea what to think of this sometimes backwards but never boring country, and Indian people are even more of a mystery to me than India itself. I think I'm more confused now than before we came, actually. In the end, I guess it just goes to show that one month is a mere drop in the bucket when faced with such a huge place.

One thing's for sure though, and that's that India is nothing like any place I've been before. Here are a few of the things we witnessed that really had us scratching our heads:

• Waking up on overnight trains to witness both men and women popping a squat on the tracks beside moving trains to take a dump.
• Open air public urinals literally on the sidewalks and streets in Delhi. Wondrous!
• Speaking of toilets, the mind-boggling porcelain squatter. I'll be damned if I'm sitting on it, and standing on it just looks dangerous. Best to just steer clear.

  

  Squat or sit?

• The words "thank you" are apparently not in the Indian vocabulary.
• Neither is "I'm sorry." 
• Neither is "I don't know."
• The adventure that is asking for directions with people that refuse to tell you if they don't know. You can ask 5 people and get 5 different responses sometimes!
• Everything is "no problem"! (Even when there is most certainly a problem.)
• The infamous Indian head bobble. Does it mean yes? Does it mean no?? Does it mean... maybe!?!? I don't think Indian people even know what it means.
• Indians sticking to their story or opinion, even in the face of resolute evidence to the contrary.

• The staring, oh my the staring! We even had some people walking by turn their heads to continue staring after passing us. The only thing I found to be effective at combating this was to stare back.
• You will rarely see Indians laugh, even if prompted. Lots of pan face pictures!
• There are apparently no litter laws in India—people will throw anything away absolutely anywhere. Picking up trash after them will be met by quizzical looks and may be the only way to get them to laugh.

• Absolutely everyone is trying to sell something. Everyone is a salesman.
• The concept of service with a smile is completely lost here. People will do their jobs and whatever is asked of them, all the while voicing total disdain and annoyance with their every motion.
• Negotiations are not complete until the money has changed hands. We've agreed upon a price for a rickshaw ride and hopped in, only to have the driver try to negotiate for more or quibble about the destination en route.
• People on trains and buses will listen to music on their phones, without headphones. No one around seems to mind.
• At tourist attractions, Indian people will come up and ask to take pictures... of you! You also catch some people too scared to ask snapping pictures when they think you aren't looking.

• Couples do not hold hands or show affection in public, but you see guys holding hands everywhere.
• The Indian concept of love is something dreamt up by some Bollywood director. Love as we imagine it doesn't really exist, or at the least has almost nothing to do with marriage.

• Lines generally have no semblance of order to them—people will often cut in front of you if you let them. This is apparently socially acceptable for women in particular.
• As you would expect, their driving manners are much the same. If you leave even an inch, someone will cut in front of or around you.
• Lanes on the road are merely guidelines. Oncoming lanes are fair game if there's room, or if say a herd of cows is camped out on your side of the road.
• There are only two rules in driving: 1) don't hit anything, and 2) don't get hit.

• If you are a cow in India, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Cows can do no wrong.

You too can experience all this and more in lovely India! Did I miss anything? Let me know!