Adventures in India

Since Monday, I've been limping around the apartment due to an unfortunate misstep while going down the stairs. I basically slid down three of them on my left heel. I barely had enough time to congratulate myself on staying upright when the pain started.

Ever since then, I've had no trouble using the foot, but I'm unable to put any weight on my heel at all. (knifing pain = bad). So long as I walk on the ball of my foot only, there's no pain. Today, I got out of bed, and having forgotten about my injury, I started walking as I normally do.

OUCH! It hadn't seemed to heal at all.

I decided to have a doctor take a look, just to make sure half of my heel bone wasn't floating around unattached down there.

So here's story of my very first India Dr. appointment. I called a medical center we drive by almost every day, and told the lady about my ankle, and asked whether they had anyone who could look at it. She set up an appointment at 1:30 pm. A photo of the waiting room. Don't we all look so happy? (It's just like home :) )

I had a GOOD lunch today! Served on the traditional banana leaf...
My neighbor once again hosted an Onam lunch, and was nice enough to invite me and the kids. (Poor Jason had to work.) The food was delicious, and I was happy to note that my palate has adjusted somewhat to life in India, because I remember all of this being VERY spicy. (To be fair, the ginger/chili curry still brought tears to my eyes - but everything else was bearable.)

A calmer video from the zoo trip. The tigers on the Grand Safari.

We went back to the Bannerghatta Zoo this weekend just to get out of the house. The weather was perfect, nice and cool, and we had a good time. We stopped by the area where the monkeys hung out, and were enjoying ourselves immensely. That is, until the larger, meaner, male monkeys took exception to me filming them. We got into a small scuffle, and I'm sad to admit, I was out-intimidated and allowed Jason's Coke to be stolen once again.

Today is India's Independence Day.



We chose to celebrate with ice cream.

For the past week or so, I've been in a bit of a funk. For no single reason, I'm irritable, non-social, and listless. And so what I'm about to say is probably not accurate, and odds are, not even true in most cases.

People are selfish.

And lately, this pervasive attitude has really started to bother me.

Do I think people are selfish only in India? No. But with all the social norms I've grown up with, and am now living apart from, I think this truth is easier for me to see here.

When people choose to lie to me instead of give me bad news.
When people push my children on the ground because they're in a hurry to leave an elevator.
When people stare at me blankly and suddenly forget the English they were just using when I ask about things I'm missing in a food order, or when I ask for change from an auto driver.

A few years ago, I struggled to survive in a bad work environment. When I finally decided the stress and frustration was beginning to affect my health and home life, I quit. And when I told a friend of my decision, she said, "You gotta do what's good for you." I nodded in agreement, and it wasn't until I was on my way home that I started thinking that maybe she wasn't right after all.

Because you see - I left that job quickly. I went down to the HR department, gave them my resignation, and then told them that while I would abide by policy and give them two more weeks if they required it, I would strongly prefer that they allow today to be my last day.

I left several teammates in a lurch that day - and heaped the very same stress I'd decided I couldn't handle onto their already burdened shoulders. In truth, I was selfish.

I mention this only to say that in the grand scheme of things, I am one of the most selfish people you will ever meet. But lately I wish we could all be a little more honest, and open, and just plain nice to one another. That for one moment each day, we really make an effort to place ourselves in the shoes of the person standing next to us, and ask what we can do to make their life easier.

So the next time I have to pick twelve items from a menu before I find one that they actually have in stock, I'm not going to get angry. I'm going to smile, and say thank you, and try my best to be the happy part of someone's day, instead of just another customer.

Because the truth is, I'm just being selfish. And the world could use a little less of that attitude.