The following is a “reprint” from Sirensongs who spent 7 years as an expat in India and Nepal. Her blog, Feringhee: The India Diaries is an engaging story of her life there. I loved this article as it’s full of little cultural tidbits that will make you laugh. Enjoy! And, pay a visit to Sirensongs!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Things you take for granted over here
Kathmandu, Nepal
Bargaining and haggling for everything
Specifically asking for “English newspaper”
Having neighbors who look like stills from National Geographic
Dishonesty (about prices, availability, life stories, when the work will be finished, etc.) and corner-cutting
Wondering how you will pay the $65.00 rent
Channel-flipping from Nepali to Hindi to English to Tibetan within a few minutes’ conversation
Monks with cell phones
Papayas, figs and pomegranates are not a luxury
A dozen Tibetan high lamas live within walking distance
Nobody has a license (for anything)
Never being cold
Being called “Didi” (big sister) in Nepal, “Chechi” or “Madama” in Kerala, “Akka” in Tamil Nadu, “Memsah
ib” in Calcutta, and either “Auntie” or “Madame” everywhere else
Prescription medicine without a prescription, or a doctor’s visit
Prescription medicine that costs $50.00 in the US costing $2.00
Every commercial building has a full time watchman and doorman in uniform
Vegetarian food
Constantly carrying an umbrella (for sun most days, and rain during monsoon)
Sandals, 365 days a year
Routinely meeting people who’ve just returned from, or are headed, to places considered dangerous by most of the world (Afghanistan, Egypt, Jaffna/northern Sri Lanka, Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, trekking in western Nepal, etc.)
No spring, no fall, no changing colours; just hot season, rainy season and dry season (winter)
English teachers: pathethic losers at home, prestigious over here!
Permanently “homeless” people *not* being removed by police or housing authorities
Handmade custom-tailored clothes available on most every corner (now, you just have to be able to communicate what you want!)
Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicine in every shop; aspirin is “English medicine”
Child labour (exception: Kerala)
Beggars with stump limbs and grotesque deformities
Every week is a different religious holiday for a different religion
Flowers grow all year round
Keeping a bottle of mineral water in the bathroom just to brush your teeth
Hershey’s is an import; Cadbury is domestic
Hot water is a luxury
Being able to identify someone’s religion or region by their headgear or dress
Buying everything, from underwear to a sweater to popcorn to a mirror, on the street
Goats, cows and packs of dogs on the sidewalk
Your washing machine and bathtub both are a plastic bucket
Instead of tossing your old sandals or broken umbrella, getting them repaired by the shy lower-caste guy on the corner
Doctor’s visit: Three dollars (and worth every penny, ha ha)
Being treated like a rich person (ie, ability to stroll into five star lobbies and dawdle around without security being alerted) just by virtue of being a “foreigner”
BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper)
Taking a bus for ten cents, or a taxi across town for a dollar
Automatic VIP status for foreigners
Stores close for afternoon siesta
Stray dogs aren’t rounded up and euthanized, but are alternately kicked, beaten, fed and played with
Saving water in a bucket in your bathroom; at least one day a week there is no water supply
Keeping a flashlight, candles and a lighter handy for power cuts

Everyone on your block knows your schedule and your entire life story
The temple down the road is “only” 300 years old
Internet cafes and public phones that work on nearly every corner
Waiting for “the boy” to bring something (towel, bucket, water, napkin, tea)
Goat and other carcasses, eyes still open, for sale on the road
Having conversations with persons of a dozen nationalities in one day (German, Japanese, Israeli, Dutch, Danish, Australian, Filipino, Indian, Italian, British, Brazilian, French, Korean, Swedish, Swiss, Nepali, Bhutanese) and being able to identify them by accent
Not having a phone in the house (residential landlines are rare)
Parking anywhere (with a motorbike or moped), usually for free (exception: Pune)
Waking up at 4am to the shattering cymbals and braying horns of Tibetan morning ritual music
Being nearly grazed by passing cars, motorcycles, cycle rickshaws and bicycles a dozen times a day
Every woman has a pierced nose, some more than one piercing
The Bunch of Keys (they are always old-fashioned, long handled keys and your house always has at least 3 different locks), also suitable for use as a weapon
Taking off your shoes before entering most rooms
Wearing sunblock every day, all day and still getting tanned
Tea is a staple
Wearing a face mask against air pollution
Couples holding hands now appear shocking
Seeing headlines like “500 teachers abducted; whereabouts unknown” or “Maoists slay 5 in Birgunj” on a daily basis
Seeing police with riot shields and barbed wire road blocks on every other corner
Cracked feet
Compulsively dark shops and restaurants (electricity is very expensive, and people try to conserve to the point of living in darkness)
101 Uses for coconut hair oil (makeup remover, body lotion, moisturizer) and Tiger Balm (congestion relief, headache cure, wakey-uppy)
Stepping over human and other excrement on the road; ability to identiy excrement (human from dog, and cow from horse from elephant) at a distance
Paying $1.00 for a latte is a splurge
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
Inspiration can come from many things. It is what motivates us, it is that spark of creativity, it is our stimulation to action. My husband doesn’t understand my need for traveling to foreign countries, especially developing countries in the East. He is more interested in visiting new places locally, to enjoy a different scenery or a particular activity or event. While traveling is certainly fun for that reason, my own inspiration for travel is sparked by culture. Akin to a pilgrim, I’m on a spiritual journey to find my truth. Experiencing life in a different country, with a foreign language and culture opens not only my eyes but my intellect to the entire world full of possibilities!
Other inspirations for travel include escaping from the humdrum of everyday life, learning a new language, exploring historical sites, sampling local foods, climbing mountains, attending a festival, searching ancestral roots, and the list could go on & on. So, what is your travel inspiration?
“It’s heavy,” was my first thought upon holding the iPad for the first time. Within minutes, though, I knew that I would be taking Apple’s newest gadget home with me!
I’ve had the iPad now for 2 weeks and I’m convinced that it is the perfect travel device. Not only is it a completely equipped entertainment device (reading, videos, music for that long international flight), I’m able to access the web using wifi and the larger size makes browsing and searching much more pleasant than using my iTouch.
I have found the on-screen keyboard to be quite good. My long, thin fingers have gotten used to typing fairly accurately and it’s much easier than I expected. Eventually, I will probably purchase the Bluetooth keyboard but for now, I’m satisfied with typing on-screen. Some apps, such as Macjournal and Yahoo Messenger have their own keyboards built into the app. I much prefer Apple’s layout as it is wider.
The lack of a camera is not an issue for me. I don’t use video chat and I certainly wouldn’t want to use the iPad as a camera.
Pictures and videos are beautiful on the high definition screen. I have noticed a significant glare but I’m getting used to it. Anti-glare shields can be purchased if it’s a real problem.
While traveling, I will be able to update my blog easily using the Wordpress app or by logging in via the web. Uploading pictures won’t be as easy unless I purchase the camera connection kit. I wish Apple had included an SD card slot, It would have made so much sense!
Language apps, travel guides, currency converters, and maps will all come in very handy while traveling. And Skype for calling home is second to none! The only real disadvantage I can think of is that the iPad will draw attention and therefore be a high risk for theft. In September, I will be taking it on an Alaska Cruise and then to Nepal for the true test of being the perfect travel device!
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