Things I miss

In this blog post I will catalogue things that I took for granted/am looking forward to in the US. It is amazing to me how many of the things are small, but the little things really add up after a while:

· A/C. This is one of the biggest ones. I don’t know how our ancestors lived without this for as long as they did without losing their minds. I guess I am in one of the hotter places in the world, but wouldn’t you think that would mean there would be more air conditioning? The reason for its lack of prevalence here isn’t that A/C’s are expensive, but that the power to run them is expensive. My host family always tells me to turn off the fans when I leave a room, or the lights… I guess it’s a lot more than I realized.

· Warm showers. After a long hot day, you would think that a cold shower is the only cure to the overbearing heat, but stepping into an A/C house and getting in a hot shower is something that I’ve needed for a while now.

· Cars. I am in desperate need of comfort when it comes to transportation. The epitome of luxury for me this far has been traveling in a 6x4 block with another person in a sleeper bus. After rickshaws and motorbikes all day, every day, I can’t wait for my 4 runner.

· Traffic. Going off the last one, it will be a relief to go back to the US where sanity is the rule of the road, and not overall chaos. I have a few videos that people can watch of traffic here if you would like. You have to see it to believe it.

· Social order and rules. In this country, if you want something quick, then it is a genuine struggle to accomplish anything. From standing in lines, to ordering food, to navigating a rickshaw there will always be problems that seem like they would be alleviated by any resemblance of order. There are no rules or regulations: people cut to the front of lines regularly (yes like you have to push your way to the front if you don’t want to get cut), listed prices are only suggestions, the food you eat it like playing Russian roulette with your stomach. Just in general nothing here happens on a regular time scale, largely due to the lack of any discernable rules. It’s hard to explain, just the general social infrastructure here seems like it needs a good dose of Westernization.

· Trashcans. There are none of these anywhere in India. Trash goes on the ground here, not in trashcans.

· Space. There isn’t a spare plot of land in this whole city. If there is an empty lot, then it’s a temporary landfill. There are people everywhere at all hours of the day doing God knows what, it’s astounding still that Baroda is bigger than Raleigh and they call it a small city

· Burgers. I would pay a hefty sum for a nice burger right now. Don’t know what else needs to be described about this, but wow I want a burger.

· White people. This doesn’t mean that I’m tired of Indian people, it’s just that I can’t wait until I won’t be stared at, or asked for autographs (yep, 3 times now I’ve given out my autograph), or have to shake people’s hands on the street every 300 yards, or take pictures with groups of people (wow I lost count of how many times I’ve done this within the first week). The list goes on and on.

· Internet. This is another of the biggest ones. I rely so much on the Internet, it’s amazing. I’ve had to change how I entertain myself here, because I would usually be able to spend countless hours on the Internet every day… no really I can entertain myself on the Internet better than anyone else I know. I can’t wait until I can get wireless whenever I want it again.

· English. I didn’t really take this for granted in the US, but being able to speak the same language as everyone else back home will be a huge relief. Can’t wait.

It’s not that I don’t like it here, don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing. It’s just that, man I will be loving life when I get back to the USA. The little things add up over weeks and weeks. I’ll do a blog on things I’ll miss in the next week or so to counter this.