Cultural differences

I’ve mentioned some cultural differences in everyday life throughout my blogs but lately I’ve been asked more and more about them, most have become such the norm for me I forget they are culturally different. So I’m trying to take notice and here I’ll explain a few;

Saying “thank you” is uncommon and unaccepted, it is thought to create distance between friends and family and simply not necessary with strangers. Now if someone goes above and beyond a thank you is appreciated but in Canada we are uber polite saying thank you to everyone for everything , some Indians would argue there is no sincerity behind it and it has just become a formality therefore has no real meaning. Each time I catch myself saying thank you here I have to stop and apologize or I get the frustrated “NO thank yous.” But when I’m in Canada I come across as rude if I forget the thank you so it’s a balancing act.

You should never touch someone with your left hand, it is considered unclean. This is the hand used for cleaning your nose (yes it is culturally acceptable to pick your nose) and also used when going to the toilet. Those who aren’t interested in the toilet differences skip ahead to the next paragraph because this is one that I find quite interesting and will discuss. Here in India (and in most of my travels in Asia) most toilets are a hole in the ground. Sounds a little archaic but in truth it’s nice porcelain just like we have for western style toilets, there are grips for  the feet and in all honesty in our home we have both styles in two different washrooms, I prefer the Indian toilet. Instead of toilet paper there is a hose or simply a small bucket used to wash yourself afterwards, like using a bidet.  I put up a resistance to this in the beginning insisting on toilet paper but now when I’m home in Canada and don’t have access to a hose I miss it and simply don’t feel as clean.

For those of you who have travelled to the Caribbean you may understand “island time” well here we have “Indian Standard Time” which translates to “nothing starts on time”. If there is an event scheduled to take place at four, you will be lucky if it begins by six. Nobody gets stressed out about time; nobody rushes to be “on time”. Shops run on a schedule but you can’t set your watch to it, what’s funny is when you head to a shop and the shopkeeper is there but sleeping, no amount of coughing or jiggling keys will wake him from his slumber, its best just to come back in a few hours. If you are invited to someone’s home you are expected to be on time although the reason for the invitation may not occur until much later.  Temples are the only things that have strict schedules a good Hindu would never be late for God! When it comes to living life in India or even just visiting you need to adapt a go with the flow attitude, it’s best to be ready on time but always relaxed in the wait, trust me whatever you are privileged to attend will be worth the wait.

More differences to blog about next week stay tuned…