Before coming to India, I heard many anecdotes referring to how hospitable, friendly, and welcoming the Indian people are. When Dave and I first got here, I had trouble believing that because of the language barrier we encountered as well as the cultural adjustment. However, as we spend more time here in India I realize how true these stories are!
Last week Dave and I were waiting for the town bus in order to get to the main hospital from the college campus. The city but is always an adventure-- crowded, loud, and never guaranteeing it will stop where you need it to. The day prior we had tried to take the bus to the hospital and wound up several miles from where we needed to be, and to this day we still don't quite know what happened! So needless to say, we were sort of dreading having to take this bus. As we sat at the bus stop nervously anticipating the craziness, a car pulled up and the driver rolled down the window, asked us if we were going to the hospital, and offered us a ride. In America we would have immediately said no, assuming this person was your average Hannibal Lector. However, this didn't seem odd at all. For whatever reason, we were completely trusting of this person, and the offer of a ride did not seem weird in the slightest. As we got in the car, we began to notice more details that were subtle cues that this wasn't a fatal choice: the driver spoke perfect English, his car was clean, he didn't use his horn or drive like a maniac, and he was listening to Kid Rock on his iPod. Who was this person? It turns out that his name is Dr. Simon, and he is a radiation oncologist at CMC. He was explaining to us that because he was a student at CMC many years ago and had to beg for rides every so often, he felt it was his duty to offer rides to any students he saw wearing CMC badges and waiting for the bus. And we had such a lovely chat! He told us that he did his fellowship in Canada, which explained why his English was so good as well as his interesting choice of music. He also said that it took him months to start driving in India again after returning from canada since being away made him realize how dangerous and insane it is here. This also explained his lack of horn usage; since he wasn't trying to speed or pass anyone, he didn't need it! We spent the 10 minute ride discussing lake effect snow ( of which we are familiar from our time in Rochester) as well as his radiation oncology research. I was happy to be able to hold my own in that conversation! By the end of the ride we felt like instant friends. And if we weren't already grateful for the ride, he insisted we call him to come over to his house for dinner. So in a matter of 10 minutes, we were spared the city bus, getting lost, 8 rupees, and the heat, and instead given an air conditioned, safe ride to the hospital by a new friend who also wants to have us over for dinner. If this happens in America, I am unaware of it. Or at least, unaware of it happening without the person ending up dead! I have never felt so welcomed and accepted by a stranger in my whole life. And I am so grateful for it.
Indian hospitality has also broken through the language barrier for us. During a visit to the temple in Vellore Fort, a CMC security guard who was also there visiting saw our CMC badges and insisted he show us around. He knew very little English, but he managed to help us see so many little details of the temple that we otherwise would have missed. There is one little spot in a corner of the foundation where a carving shows two animals that look like they are butting head to head. However, it is an optical illusion, and the one head shared by the two animals can be either a cow on one side or an elephant on the other. This was something so cool that we would have completely missed without his guidance. He also took us around and explained the names of each god depicted on the wall. That generosity was kind but got a little tiring... Especially because there are like 80 bajillion gods and we couldn't communicate with him that we were tired and ready to go home. But still. His effort really touched us.
If there is one thing that makes India great, it is the people. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us feel at home here.
Last week Dave and I were waiting for the town bus in order to get to the main hospital from the college campus. The city but is always an adventure-- crowded, loud, and never guaranteeing it will stop where you need it to. The day prior we had tried to take the bus to the hospital and wound up several miles from where we needed to be, and to this day we still don't quite know what happened! So needless to say, we were sort of dreading having to take this bus. As we sat at the bus stop nervously anticipating the craziness, a car pulled up and the driver rolled down the window, asked us if we were going to the hospital, and offered us a ride. In America we would have immediately said no, assuming this person was your average Hannibal Lector. However, this didn't seem odd at all. For whatever reason, we were completely trusting of this person, and the offer of a ride did not seem weird in the slightest. As we got in the car, we began to notice more details that were subtle cues that this wasn't a fatal choice: the driver spoke perfect English, his car was clean, he didn't use his horn or drive like a maniac, and he was listening to Kid Rock on his iPod. Who was this person? It turns out that his name is Dr. Simon, and he is a radiation oncologist at CMC. He was explaining to us that because he was a student at CMC many years ago and had to beg for rides every so often, he felt it was his duty to offer rides to any students he saw wearing CMC badges and waiting for the bus. And we had such a lovely chat! He told us that he did his fellowship in Canada, which explained why his English was so good as well as his interesting choice of music. He also said that it took him months to start driving in India again after returning from canada since being away made him realize how dangerous and insane it is here. This also explained his lack of horn usage; since he wasn't trying to speed or pass anyone, he didn't need it! We spent the 10 minute ride discussing lake effect snow ( of which we are familiar from our time in Rochester) as well as his radiation oncology research. I was happy to be able to hold my own in that conversation! By the end of the ride we felt like instant friends. And if we weren't already grateful for the ride, he insisted we call him to come over to his house for dinner. So in a matter of 10 minutes, we were spared the city bus, getting lost, 8 rupees, and the heat, and instead given an air conditioned, safe ride to the hospital by a new friend who also wants to have us over for dinner. If this happens in America, I am unaware of it. Or at least, unaware of it happening without the person ending up dead! I have never felt so welcomed and accepted by a stranger in my whole life. And I am so grateful for it.
Indian hospitality has also broken through the language barrier for us. During a visit to the temple in Vellore Fort, a CMC security guard who was also there visiting saw our CMC badges and insisted he show us around. He knew very little English, but he managed to help us see so many little details of the temple that we otherwise would have missed. There is one little spot in a corner of the foundation where a carving shows two animals that look like they are butting head to head. However, it is an optical illusion, and the one head shared by the two animals can be either a cow on one side or an elephant on the other. This was something so cool that we would have completely missed without his guidance. He also took us around and explained the names of each god depicted on the wall. That generosity was kind but got a little tiring... Especially because there are like 80 bajillion gods and we couldn't communicate with him that we were tired and ready to go home. But still. His effort really touched us.
If there is one thing that makes India great, it is the people. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us feel at home here.
I totally did not see the cow at first. But now I do. That is super awesome! I'm glad you guys are posting so much, I am really enjoying reading this! I am just sorry that all my blog has to offer in return is foul-mouthed posts about playoff hockey.
ReplyDelete-Laura