Four months have passed since my arrival in Indore and I can’t say the time has flown by but I can’t say it has dragged on either. Being here on exchange has been kind of an unique time warp. At times it’s felt like I haven’t seen my family in ages, especially after missing my younger sister’s quince, and other times I reflect on all the things I have yet to do. This gap year has definitely been one of the best and hardest decisions I’ve ever made. It has provided me with several life lessons that one might not typically think of when you think of lessons learned on exchange programs. I haven’t come to some ah-ha moment becoming incredibly inspired by anything but I have learned more conventional, difficult things such as how to deal with impossible people using unfamiliar communication styles, I’ve had several, overdue reality checks on my life plans, and I’ve come to see traveling and cultural exchange as it really is, not the magical all powerful thing it is often perceived as. Although these 4 months have been mentally straining to the point of physical exhaustion at times I’m ready for the next 6 months that lie ahead. Despite the challenges I’ve faced and the unconventional exchange I’m having, without wearing saris, getting henna, and evolving into an Indian chef, I am so grateful for everything I have endured thus far because it has given me a lot to grapple with and contemplate about. Now that my cheesy monologue is finished I can tell you about transportation in India!
Because my exchange has recently been filled with traveling all around the India it’s only appropriate that transportation in India gets it’s own blog post. You've probably heard that driving in India is crazy, well, you wouldn't be wrong. It is crazy, but it works. You’ve got two wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) and four wheelers (cars) competing on uneven and sometimes unpaved roads to go the fastest. May I also mention that all four wheelers are standard so that also makes for a considerably more bumpy ride. I barely remember what a seatbelt is anymore because they are just car decorations to me now. The legal driving age is 18, but when no one really follows any road rules why follow that one too? There are plenty of kids that look as young as 14 maneuvering around on scooters. Its a little weird, but again it works.
It would seem that with the lack of lanes and and police enforcement there would be a lot of accidents. This is true in some ways. There are plenty of fender benders, but not many “accidents”. Within the four months I’ve been here I’ve seen the aftermath of a crash where people were just recovering from being a little shaken up. Also a rickshaw and a two wheeler bump tail ends, pause, evaluate that both were okay, then go their separate ways right in front of my apartment complex. The scariest thing I witnessed was family of three slip on a wet road while it was raining fall and get right back on and keep moving. I’ve only witnessed one accident that prompted severe frustration between the two parties when a driver rear ended another car and was pulled out of his car and beaten. Helmets are worn sometimes, but also sometimes they aren’t. I would think it would be smart to wear one in India, smarter than wearing one in the US because you go at a speed that if you fall and hit your head an injury could be prevented with a helmet but while going 60-70 mph in the US wearing a helmet isn’t going to do a whole lot to save you. Sometimes you can go fast, but never fast enough to cause the damage we are used to seeing in car accidents that clog up your morning traffic commute. However, you do go fast when you are on the highway traveling long distances in between cities. I mean like 100 kph so thats thrilling.
I’m not sure if it’s a lack of police enforcement or just a question if vehicles exist for police authority but have never seen a police car. When I thought that I did see a police vehicle it turned out to be a civilian car with a siren and speakers mounted on the roof. Yeah that’s legal, or just tolerated, but I would sure like to have a speaker on my roof back home to bring my road rage up to the next level. Something I never expected to do while being here was increase my road rage vocabulary, but never say never right? My host family has taught me the basics of Indian road rage which all sound much more threatening in Hindi because it always sounds like someone is mad when they speak Hindi in an elevated voice. My favorites are, “He will die someday” and “he has no brain”. Those terms usually come out when someone has rubbed up against the side of our car or sped in front of us. Vehicles often scrape up against each other and get little dents all over and it’s never a huge deal. I have yet to see people pull over and trade insurance over car damage. I’m sure there is some sort of procedure and resource when you get significant damage to you car or scooter, but they don’t let the little things phase them. Now there are crazy people who scrap your car but there are also wonderful people who will help you back in and out of any space everywhere you go! If you’re in a tight spot find any random bystander and they will help back you in or out while stopping traffic. I think the communal attitude prompts people to help others out because everyone’s been there. Everyone’s been stuck because someone literally parked right on your bumper in the middle of the road.
My family is wonderfully adapted to living in India considering the monsoon season. We have two cars: one is the better car we use everyday-the Toyota Camry- and the older car which is referred as “the boat”. “The boat” is taken out whenever monsoons cause flooding up to 1-2 feet in some areas of the road so it kind of always smells damp inside. I am forever grateful for the boat saving us several times from having a stalled engine.
India is great about making sure everyone is included and that means no one is ever left behind when you have to travel somewhere. If you can all fit in one car why take two? If you have a two-wheeler you can get creative to make it work. I’ve seen as many as 5 people cruising together on one scooter. I’ve made a list of all the things people carry on their two wheelers that have made me laugh to myself or amazed me or even both.
What can you carry on a two-wheeler???
I was thinking the other day that all of my family members in India and Indian friends that read my blog are probably surprised with the things that I notice or that stand out to me. I’ve been thinking that if the roles were reversed I would definitely be surprised with the differences between India and the US an Indian would discover or place significance on. A perfect example of this was when my Hindi teacher, Dr. Rajopadhiyay went on and on one day in class comparing the different kinds of carts in the US and India. When Dr. Raj is talking about carts in India he means 4 bicycle wheels holding up a flat wooden top that vendors walk around selling fruit and vegetables on. That was his definition of a cart so when he went to visit Disneyland he noticed how different their “carts” were. They had more or less wheels and sold souvenirs instead of fruit. Dr. Raj is absolutely a “happy go lucky” guy so the 4 of us tend to not understand what he’s talking about in his crazy lectures about the US and India. As you can image we were barely containing our laughter about this ridiculous comparison about something so small and irrelevant in our culture and society. I am sure I have written about many irrelevant, silly things in my blog that Indians barely notice in their day to day life but it’s still fun to see what stands out to you and what falls into the background when your traveling.
Because my exchange has recently been filled with traveling all around the India it’s only appropriate that transportation in India gets it’s own blog post. You've probably heard that driving in India is crazy, well, you wouldn't be wrong. It is crazy, but it works. You’ve got two wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) and four wheelers (cars) competing on uneven and sometimes unpaved roads to go the fastest. May I also mention that all four wheelers are standard so that also makes for a considerably more bumpy ride. I barely remember what a seatbelt is anymore because they are just car decorations to me now. The legal driving age is 18, but when no one really follows any road rules why follow that one too? There are plenty of kids that look as young as 14 maneuvering around on scooters. Its a little weird, but again it works.
It would seem that with the lack of lanes and and police enforcement there would be a lot of accidents. This is true in some ways. There are plenty of fender benders, but not many “accidents”. Within the four months I’ve been here I’ve seen the aftermath of a crash where people were just recovering from being a little shaken up. Also a rickshaw and a two wheeler bump tail ends, pause, evaluate that both were okay, then go their separate ways right in front of my apartment complex. The scariest thing I witnessed was family of three slip on a wet road while it was raining fall and get right back on and keep moving. I’ve only witnessed one accident that prompted severe frustration between the two parties when a driver rear ended another car and was pulled out of his car and beaten. Helmets are worn sometimes, but also sometimes they aren’t. I would think it would be smart to wear one in India, smarter than wearing one in the US because you go at a speed that if you fall and hit your head an injury could be prevented with a helmet but while going 60-70 mph in the US wearing a helmet isn’t going to do a whole lot to save you. Sometimes you can go fast, but never fast enough to cause the damage we are used to seeing in car accidents that clog up your morning traffic commute. However, you do go fast when you are on the highway traveling long distances in between cities. I mean like 100 kph so thats thrilling.
I’m not sure if it’s a lack of police enforcement or just a question if vehicles exist for police authority but have never seen a police car. When I thought that I did see a police vehicle it turned out to be a civilian car with a siren and speakers mounted on the roof. Yeah that’s legal, or just tolerated, but I would sure like to have a speaker on my roof back home to bring my road rage up to the next level. Something I never expected to do while being here was increase my road rage vocabulary, but never say never right? My host family has taught me the basics of Indian road rage which all sound much more threatening in Hindi because it always sounds like someone is mad when they speak Hindi in an elevated voice. My favorites are, “He will die someday” and “he has no brain”. Those terms usually come out when someone has rubbed up against the side of our car or sped in front of us. Vehicles often scrape up against each other and get little dents all over and it’s never a huge deal. I have yet to see people pull over and trade insurance over car damage. I’m sure there is some sort of procedure and resource when you get significant damage to you car or scooter, but they don’t let the little things phase them. Now there are crazy people who scrap your car but there are also wonderful people who will help you back in and out of any space everywhere you go! If you’re in a tight spot find any random bystander and they will help back you in or out while stopping traffic. I think the communal attitude prompts people to help others out because everyone’s been there. Everyone’s been stuck because someone literally parked right on your bumper in the middle of the road.
My family is wonderfully adapted to living in India considering the monsoon season. We have two cars: one is the better car we use everyday-the Toyota Camry- and the older car which is referred as “the boat”. “The boat” is taken out whenever monsoons cause flooding up to 1-2 feet in some areas of the road so it kind of always smells damp inside. I am forever grateful for the boat saving us several times from having a stalled engine.
India is great about making sure everyone is included and that means no one is ever left behind when you have to travel somewhere. If you can all fit in one car why take two? If you have a two-wheeler you can get creative to make it work. I’ve seen as many as 5 people cruising together on one scooter. I’ve made a list of all the things people carry on their two wheelers that have made me laugh to myself or amazed me or even both.
What can you carry on a two-wheeler???
- A very happy saint bernard
- refrigerator
- sheets of glass
- a door
- lots of other people
- a ladder
- a least 6 gallons of steaming hot tea
- sacks of potatoes and other various vegetables
- televisions
- a breastfeeding mother and infant
I was thinking the other day that all of my family members in India and Indian friends that read my blog are probably surprised with the things that I notice or that stand out to me. I’ve been thinking that if the roles were reversed I would definitely be surprised with the differences between India and the US an Indian would discover or place significance on. A perfect example of this was when my Hindi teacher, Dr. Rajopadhiyay went on and on one day in class comparing the different kinds of carts in the US and India. When Dr. Raj is talking about carts in India he means 4 bicycle wheels holding up a flat wooden top that vendors walk around selling fruit and vegetables on. That was his definition of a cart so when he went to visit Disneyland he noticed how different their “carts” were. They had more or less wheels and sold souvenirs instead of fruit. Dr. Raj is absolutely a “happy go lucky” guy so the 4 of us tend to not understand what he’s talking about in his crazy lectures about the US and India. As you can image we were barely containing our laughter about this ridiculous comparison about something so small and irrelevant in our culture and society. I am sure I have written about many irrelevant, silly things in my blog that Indians barely notice in their day to day life but it’s still fun to see what stands out to you and what falls into the background when your traveling.