So the things I thought were "polite" aren't necessarily "polite" when you're in India. For example, the following social niceties have no place here:
wait your turn
queue in an orderly fashion
don't eat with your hands
don't spit in the street
don't spit on other people's feet
don't spit on the floor of the bus
don't spit chewing tobacco in any of the aforementioned places either
don't pee on the side of the street
wash your hands after going to the toilet
use toilet paper
flush the toilet paper down the toilet
don't hoick/gargle phlegm in your mouth in public
keep cows on a farm
only toot your horn when necessary
give way
stop for pedestrians at the crossing
keep left
only overtake when it is safe
do not overtake overtaking vehicles
I could go on forever about traffic rules...
This country is so surprising. Just when you think you can't stand it any longer, something sweet happens and you love it even more.
We had breakfast with an American woman who lives here for 6 months and in the USA for 6 months who summed it up perfectly: After 6 months in India, I just want to escape the filth, eat normal food and get back to the real world where people have enough money to feed themselves. But after 6 months in the states, I miss the colour and the chaos, and get sick of everyone chasing superficial goals."
She also made a comment about how the people here have bodies that look like sculptures made of wood because they work so hard, and in the US all she sees is white, flabby bodies. Too right.
PS Because the cow is sacred here, McDonalds doesn't sell hamburgers or cheeseburgers, but you can get a McAloo Tikka burger (a good potato burger). We wouldn't know though, coz when in India, we ate Indian :)
