Indian reality; what is NOT in the brochure...

So, I've been in India a little over two months now and you would think that I'm not that easily surprised anymore. You know, been there....done that! But the truth is that everything that shocked me 2 months ago... well, that doesn't shock me anymore, but it annoys me. The best way to deal with it, to make it bearable, is just to laugh about it. Unfortunately I loose my patience every now and then and then I get really angry. I have little respect left for Indians and that shows sometimes in my behavior. But it's really hard to have respect for a population that doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'respect'. So I'm what they call "toughened up". Yep, toughened up Emma... I don't think I like her that much and I hope me being here so long doesn't inflict any permanent damage. 

Some examples of daily life in India and how this world works;

PEE

The little girl in my guest house is not wearing diapers and so every now and then she pees her pants and leaves a puddle of pee on the floor of the inner courtyard. Now, do you think that there is anyone in this family that bothers to clean that up? Of course not, it's only pee! Seriously, it's only a very smelly puddle of pee right next to their garden swing where they sit down to eat. No big deal! And the guests? Well, we only walk barefoot around the courtyard so it's not like we have to touch it with our hands, only with our feet. No big deal! 

TRASH

So I'm walking down the street, being all relaxed and all of a sudden... a pile of dirt is flying through the air. Some household is cleaning up and they just throw their filth out on the street. It's like the middle ages! 

But the worst I've seen so far was yesterday. Just outside the city of Mapusa I saw a stream, a little stream of water that is officially NOT a sewer, but it looked like one anyway. Next to it a young woman was kneeling down, bringing her cup in the water and... she was drinking it! She was drinking water from a stream that looked and smelled like a sewer! Now I know there's a lot of pollution and I know there's a lot of poverty... but now I also know how the two are connected! Indian Government is polluting the country in the hope that poor people will get contaminated and sick and they will die and then there will be no more poverty?!

BUS

I took a bus from Anjuna to Mapusa and that takes about 25 minutes. We were all packed up in there like sardines in a tin. Now imagine; it's 35 degrees, the sun is shining, people are sweating, smelling and they yell at each other in order to get on the bus. Standing passengers allowed is 11, but I think we were close to 20. Now all of a sudden there was a strange burning smell so the conductor had to open the front hatch from the inside of the bus while the bus was still driving... As soon as he opened the hatch smoke came out and obviously the engine was overheated. Do you think this bus pulled over? Of course not! The smoke might be bothering the sardines in the back but that doesn't bother the driver, so he just kept going.  And the conductor pored water over the engine. The first cups of water he pored literally vaporised instantly, so he kept that water coming and did so the whole way till we arrived in Mapusa. I've seen it so many times that behind the driver's seat there is a bucket of water. But until yesterday I had no idea what it was for. Now I know, it's the special 'engine-cooldown-bucket', a great and very important tool to have in India!

TAXI

So for the first week I was in Goa I always used the same taxi-driver. His name is Sudha and he lives close to the flat I was staying in. He was not cheap, but not as expensive as some of the others so I told him that he was charging me 'very good price' for him, but that I would pay because I knew I could count on him. First mistake; NEVER count on anyone here!! But he seemed really nice and pretty open. Every time we would have little talks and he even invited me to his house to meet his sister who does Mehndi (henna-tattoos). Second mistake; if they offer you something personal... it's not because they want to be friendly, it's because they can make money! Anyway, I liked Sudha and I KNOW I payed him well!

So we went to Palolim for 2 days and when we were on our way to the bus to come back to Anjuna, there was Sudha. He had just dropped off some people and he was now heading back. It's a two hour drive and off course it's not good to go back empty. BUT I also know they charge that 'coming back empty' to the client. So he offered to bring us back for 500 as to what I immediately replied; "250?". He said yes, nodded and didn't even try to bargain with me. I went to get the others and when I got back 10 minutes later, he was driving away with two other tourists in the back, and without stopping he pointed at me and yelled : "YOU GO BY BUS!!" That asshole! We had a deal, and he bailed on me. And for what? For a few roepies more. I understand that he wants to make money, but he didn't have to talk to me like that! He could have bargained with me. He could have told me that he would be looking for other better paying customers. I don't know... but this was uncalled for! And not to mention the business he is loosing because of it! The flat we are in is pretty far from everything so having a reliable 'taxi man' is a big asset. This way they always know who to call and Sudha would have regular work, even outside season. Now after my story they're not gonna use him anymore. I was his reference, but he stuffed up! Well, this is a fine example of what could have been a 'win-win' situation, but turned into a 'loose-loose' situation. And Sudha will never know!

FOOD

The last couple of days I've seen a few living corpses walking around. Stomach problems are very common here and I've seen what it does. People are sweating, feverish, in pain, drying out... it's not good. They heal after antibiotics, so it's not like they will die, but it's suffering! Now, we all know that when you come to India you have to be prepared. People get sick here. It's common knowledge. But I don't understand why a restaurant would prepare food that has not been kept properly... when they KNOW that it will make us sick. This is Goa, tourists have been coming here for decades, EVERYBODY knows that our stomaches are not that tough! Yet, they keep feeding it us. And why? To make money. Well, it's not only wrong, it's also extremely disrespectful!

MEN

I've taken about 10 buses that last week and what annoys me is to see how women and children are standing up, getting squashed while young strong men sit down on the seats. There really is no respect for women when in reality they are the ones who make India. THEY build the roads, literally road workers in India are most times women! THEY decorate India and make it the colorful place that attracts so many tourists. THEY give birth to the children and ensure a future. THEY feed the men in India so they can keep doing absolutely nothing. Anyway, women are the heart of India but they get no respect for that! Sometimes I just want to kick to little punks'butts and tell them to fuck off. They contribute NOTHING to this society, unless you count lying, being lazy, poisoning westerns, sitting on their asses, getting drunk... a contribution?! 

But on top of having to stand... they all get grabbed. There's always some sexually frustrated one that thinks he can touch butts and tits. And they don't try so much with me because they know I would slap them! But I see them do it also with Indian women. Disgusting, they should castrate them! 

Thank you for listening to me 'wining'! I'm having this love-hate affair with India and today the 'hate-part' is wining the match. Anyway, from today on it's only 18 more days and I'm leaving India. But you want to know the worst part? As much as I hate India and I get angry about everything written above and more... I am gonna be sad to go! How fucked up is that?! ;-))