Culturorama
So, three months into my second experience away in the US, here are are some fun (not) culture facts.
1. I don’t like drinking water like dogs. Water fountains: boo.
2. I suddenly like free food. “It’s the key to a successful grad school life.” (The second sentence is shamelessly stolen from a friend). Any week with < 3 free meals is a failure.
3. Pencil > pen. Thank you for finally letting me use a pencil for assignments :).
4. You guys are polite. Way too polite, yet you stop somewhere before the point of being plain old fake. It’s catchy.
5. Thank you random people for holding the door open for me. And you’re welcome for when I returned the favor. I don’t know you guys, but it’s really nice of you! Back home, we simply don’t care :D
6. It took me time to know whether I really belonged to this university. I’m still not sure, but I’m much closer to knowing than I was.
Nice one.. Agree with you on the 1st point.. And for tall guys like us, its all the more bugging..
The importance of free food was there back home as well.. Just that weddings and treats has been replaced by some random party that you can crash in to have free food :P
One more prominent thing you missed was that Pedestrians are feared here by car drivers. I mean, at points when you dont have the crossing signals, even if the car can easily go past before you even start crossing, the car driver will stop and let you cross. Sometimes, ordun sangavasa vatata “Ja re baba!!” :)
Shriniket
October 31, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Nice post!
I agree with all the points but haven’t experienced 1st one..not because m not tall :-) but because i carry water bottle and fill water in that rather than drinking directly from the fountain..But knw wat? even the bottle cannot be fulled full as have to tilt it while filling!
and shri’s point is true too!
In all life is different here..but sometimes I feels Nice that we are used to things in India too!
We Indians are really adjusting!
Maith
November 1, 2010 at 12:31 pm
@ Shriniket:
Haha! Trut that. Punyat tar don teen gadyanchya tapanvarun cross keleyt re roads apan. If nothing else, we’re definitely masters of avoiding being hit :D
@ Maithili:
Oh that requires skill, and I have acquired it! I can finally fill a water bottle to the brim from a water fountain. What a sad life I have: that’s what I do when I take a break from work!
I don’t know – our life is still life as grad students. It’s far different from the locals’ lives.
Fez
November 3, 2010 at 3:22 pm
eh :)
good one..yeah, way to polite, most of the time. I usually need to make a conscious effort to match up to them.
piscianemperor
November 13, 2010 at 9:00 pm
I know! It’s catchy though, no? I’ve noticed I’ve suddenly become too polite in normal conversations too!
Fez
November 15, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Come back in India and your politeness will vanish in minutes when you reach the emigration counter :)
Imagine what will happen by the time reach Pune! …
TusharG
November 28, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Come back in India and your politeness will vanish in minutes when you reach the emigration counter :)
Imagine what will happen by the time you reach Pune! …
TusharG
November 28, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Haha! Airport varchi chidchid athavtiye mala :D
Fez
December 4, 2010 at 3:25 am
“I’ve noticed I’ve suddenly become too polite in normal conversations too!” – YES!
“You guys are polite. Way too polite, yet you stop somewhere before the point of being plain old fake. It’s catchy.” – Are you referring to white people? I shouldn’t discriminate, but a lot of the white people are polite, respectful, and so forth compared to Asians.
Then again can’t afford to be that polite in India or any other part of Asia!
Mia
December 9, 2010 at 12:48 am
“YES!”? You emphatically agree with that statement?!
Well, I was referring to people brought up here, not necessarily white people. U think they’re polite.
Well, we CAN afford to be polite in India. It’s just that people will start getting freaked out cuz no one’s used to that level of politeness!
Fez
December 17, 2010 at 6:52 pm
“Well, we CAN afford to be polite in India. It’s just that people will start getting freaked out cuz no one’s used to that level of politeness!” I was talking specifically about shopkeepers mainly ones selling fruits/vegetables. I doubt anyone can be extremely polite to them or that might be my own assumption. For that matter this is not only the case in India, but I find that true here as well. It all comes down to the person you are interacting with and it reminds me of the quote “At home I am a nice guy: but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.” Some people bring out the best in us, while others bring out the worst.
“I shouldn’t discriminate, but a lot of the white people are polite, respectful, and so forth compared to Asians.” – I want to clarify this, because I do know so many people in India that are extremely polite, and I didn’t mean to say that Indians aren’t polite. But outside of India there is excessive politeness, and it all depends from person-to-person. Some people are fake and polite, while others are polite and real. The fun lies in differentiating between the two. For that matter in the dormitory I live in, there is this lady that works on the front desk. She is way too polite, which I think comes with her job, but she is one of my favorite person, because there is something so REAL about her, and there is this genuine vibe around her, which makes it so much easier to talk to her! I am yet to find anyone over there, who appears, as genuine as her!
More often than not, I think that when we interact with someone who is fake, then we act fake too, but most of us won’t admit this. For instance, if we are dealing with a colleague/professor/boss that we dislike, then we ACT fake, and call it “professionalism”.
Mia
January 1, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Hmm, for me, it’s exactly the opposite. It’s easier for me to be polite to vegetable sellers than it is to people on the road. The quote sounds cool, but I can’t really agree to it, even though in reality, it might actually be true.
Yeah, I like your last paragraph. I was just discussing this today with a cousin. Sometimes, both people know that the other is being fake (for example, in professional networking). How is it okay? Apparently though, it is!
Fez
January 5, 2011 at 3:55 am
Last year, I remember the first time I was buying fruits, and I was my usual self the person selling knew I wasn’t much of a local – I got RIPPED OFF! :D I dare you to be as polite (as you are in the US) with them! :-P
Mia
January 5, 2011 at 11:35 pm