Thursday, April 14, 2011

Interesting India

Some interesting things that I have read in the news here:
-Monkeys have taken over the runway at Ahmedabad airport. Planes cannot land until they get them cleared out.
-There is usually one story a week about an abandoned baby girl. Seems like boys are still the most wanted. Sad.
-Men buy more beauty products than women, with teenage boys buying the most. Everyone seems to be obsessed with whitening creams and lotions.
-A 20 and 21yr old couple committed suicide when they realized they wouldn't be allowed to marry as they are from different castes. They drank poison.

And an interesting thing I have noticed concerns the babies. The boy babies have eyeliner, and bangles around their wrists and ankles, and get dressed in pink. The toddler boys have long hair. The girl babies are rather plain, sometimes they have eyeliner, and sometimes they have pierced ears. I have taken to asking my niece what gender it is just to be sure.

The other day, Husband took me to a hospital to see a 10 hour old baby, and the poor mother was so exhausted. I felt like we were intruding, but he says it is normal for everyone to come see it as soon as possible. At home, we would wait until the mother was home and ready for visitors.

Husband's car was so dirty that the neighborhood kids were writing in the dust all over it, so one evening after the sun went down, I asked for a bucket, soap and a rag and I went and washed it myself. Needless to say, at first my Mother-in-law couldn't quite figure out why on earth I would want to do that, and I became the entertainment of the neighborhood, as the Indians were quite amused by the foreigner washing the car.

My sister-in-law wants me to teach her some yoga. :)

My friend from Ahmedabad is coming down on Saturday. I hope she brings me the Indian version of People magazine. I am dying to catch up on all the Bollywood news! ;) 

3 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I am hardik (and it means "from the heart"). I am 18 yr old boy and i live in ahmedabad. (satellite area).

    I really love your blog. I feel nice when someone else is learning indian culture.

    If you need any help when you are in Ahmedabad, you can mail me and i can meet you and help you out seeing Ahmedabad, learning hindi/gujarati language and about indian culture.

    Okay, You may think why am i doing such a favor?

    Because meeting to you will also help me. My situation is that i am coming to Pittsburgh,USA next yr for my bachelor degree studies and i am super nervous talking to any American. Talking to you will help me to remove my fear about talking with Americans. Thus, if you are coming to ahmedabad than please mail me at
    warriorjogi@gmail.com

    I wish you a happy married life. Btw, where do you like currrently : in baroda (vadodara) or in surat?

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  2. I mean 'live' instead of 'like' in my previous post's last line.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My baby girl is definately not plain... I have to admit that one of my favorite things about having a baby girl is dressing her up!! Ruffles, sequins, head bands, bows... she looks like a little fashionista :) And I refuse to make her look androgynous when I come to India next month!

    By the way, I like your picture up top! And I hope you continue blogging after your trip ends.

    ReplyDelete