Other Random Indian Notes

I just remembered a few more things I wanted to say about India that don't really fit anywhere in my day-to-day stuff so I forgot about them.

1. My roommate and I read each other's blogs for the first time tonight, and reading hers reminded me of this. Indians have this funny habit we call the head-bob. She described it as looking as though they are trying to touch their ears to their shoulders, and that is pretty accurate. She also said it's kind of the american equivalent of shaking your head up-and-down as though to say "yes, I understand." The first couple times I saw it, I thought people were telling me no to something. At the first restaurant I went to, I said to the waiter, "I just wanted to get a starter as my meal.." and he did the head-bob and I thought he was telling me it wasn't possible to do that. But really he was just saying "yes, that's fine, I understand." I thought it was funny that other countries don't just have their own language habits, like strange idioms we wouldn't use (ie..."fix an appointment" in Morocco means "decide on a time to meet back here") they even have their own body mannerisms.

2. On the first day on the plane, I took an article out of a newspaper about Indian women who travel alone or in small groups of other women. It was a full-page article divided into 5 sections about 5 different women and stuff about them traveling, but the point of the article was that women should learn not to be scared of traveling. It was one of many things that made me realize what a strange position women in India are in. Like I said before, a woman is president, but women are afraid to be by themselves? A woman's role in India is such a paradox to me, but the article made me realize that I'm only 20 years old and I'm traveling around the entire world. I guess docking in countries in a huge ship with 1,000 other people it isn't as dangerous as traveling myself would be, but it still reminded me how lucky I, and everyone else on this trip, is.

3. Also in the newspaper that day was an article about a service project that kids from semester at sea had done. There were 3 different papers on the plane and they all had an article about a group that went to fix up a school. My friend Jordan went on it and her picture was in 2 of the 3 articles! It was really cool to see something about SAS in a foreign paper.

4. My roommate has a quote on her blog in the same place I have one by Hellen Keller. Her's said:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness …Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain
And that doesn't necessarily have to do with India specifically but I just really liked the quote and even though it may not be 100% accurate, because the people on my trip to India seem to have had no trouble maintaining their narrow-mindedness, I feel like the quote probably relates to India better than the other countries I've been to so far.