me and india: a love-hate-relationship

if there was a bollywood movie made from my travels in india, i sure hope it would have a happy ending, but some challenging moments would come up before, that is for sure as well. most days, i wake up and feel a deep love for this country and its people: indians are so friendly and interested in you. they love to communicate and chat. they can not say no to you....they claim that everything is possible in india. and it is, for good and for worse things to happen. tragedies and miracles happen daily and it is up to you how to handle them.
yes, india teaches me patience. otherwise you can not deal with it, not at all. getting used to the fact that nothing is fast here, things have their own pace and you should not disturb that by trying to mess with than. if you need to go to the postoffice to send a few postcards, this is not a matter of minutes, this will take about 10-15 at least, depending of how many people are waiting in front of you. the clerk has to be willing to interrupt whatever he is doing at the present and spent a few precious moments with you. then he sells you stamps which you have to glue onto the postcards yourself with a little bottle of glue, that sits on the counter. the glue takes forever to dry but you need to do it properly otherwise the stamps come off again. when that is done you pay and you can be sure that whatever bill you hand to the clerk he will NOT have change but sends someone to a ear by shop to have it changed. after receiving your change you need to insist that he stamps the postcards while you are watching, otherwise they take the stamps of your cards and resell them. the monthly pay of a post office clerk is about 2200 rupies per month---so if i were in his shoes, i would maybe try to earn a little money on the side as well.
on the other hand it can be really annoying having to bargain about everything in india- starting with toilet paper, food, clothes, and ending with transportation. you get really tired of that every once in a while. but i have to say i am an expert at it at this point. you develop feeling of what things cost. or should cost. today i had so many people trying to rip me off that after some time, you get really pissed of and it is hard not to think that people just want your money!!!!
being on your own, also not an easy thing in this country. not at all. most days i am alright and i can cope with the indian chaos. however, there were many situations in the past when i was ever so happy to have tzur and manu with me.
when travelling from orcha to khajuraho i was so sick to my stomach and wherever i sat down (in order to not pass out) people gather and stared or try to sell stuff. i was so sick and sick of india at the same time. suffering is one thing, suffering in public like this a completely different thing. i don't know what i would have done without tzur that day who patiently walked me to the bathroom and bought me water and held my hand.
varanasi for example is also not the best place to be on your own. the streets are dingy at night and i was glad not to be on my own. mamallapuram is small and i feel safe here. so no worries!!!