Just long enough

Lately, the joke around here has been about just how much India can change you. Today at the lunch table, some of the Indian aunties were describing their embarrassment while visiting the US. They were waiting for trains or busses, shoulders dropped, ready to shove their way in the moment the doors opened. They quickly discovered that most people patiently wait until the train stops, people get out, and then find a seat inside. In India, this would get you nowhere. There's always room for one more person to hang off the side of the bus, and it never comes to a complete stop, so you better be ready to jump off running.

A few weeks ago, we were having Lilly's goodbye dinner at the Thai restaurant near campus. Midway through his pad thai, which was prepared at the same time in the same pot as Lilly's and mine, Scott discovered a medium-sized cockroach in his food. It clearly had been cooked in as our dishes were prepared. After a few minutes of careful deliberation, Scott decided that it was worth the wait for a new meal and sent his back. Lilly and I just kept eating ours, unphased. Scott later joked that he saw more bugs crawl out of his meals in the mess. The bugs come at no extra charge, so do the hairs.

And there are other things you get used to. There's no such thing as a queue, at least not in Delhi. Chivalry died long ago, the ladies have even sharper elbows than the men to shove you out of the way. You'll always pay more than is fair but less than is offensive. Spitting and picking your nose are perfectly expected, but touching your lips to a bottle of water is obscene.

When we start to commit these social faux pas as though they are second nature, we joke: "you know you've been in Delhi too long when…" Instead, I think we should just say we've been in Delhi long enough. It's not a bad thing that I'm starting to fit in.

Flown by mariposa at 11:04 AM on June 02, 2005