How to be Indian...

Certain characteristics of Indians never cease to be the talk of travelers - they bring backpackers of all nationalities (except Indians, of course) closer together, you may talk shop with Koreans or Brazilians alike on the wondrous world of Indian behavior. So if you want to become Indian you might consider adopting the following behaviors...

- clear your throat prolonged and as noisily as possible of mucus and spit the collected matter in front of other people's feet
- burp often and loudly
- wear mustache (male & female alike)
- avoid politeness (exception: salespeople, train your "Hello Madam, look here Sir"), phrases like "sit here" or whistling will do the job
- cultivate lying and cheating
- never carry change (money), or at least always pretend not to
- pretend to be dumb if you don't want to deliver a service (equally: only understand English if you may gain a benefit from it)
- always answer "Yes" regardless of the question asked, support your answer by shaking your head
- consistently get directions and durations wrong (intentionally or unintentionally), if you don't have a clue about the directions you are asked make them up
- when you see a foreigner do not hesitate to force inquiries on them like, "Your name!" or "Which job?" without prior introduction.
(One anecdote on this habit: I was walking by the riverside in Hampi, which is also used by Indians for their morning toilet (i.e. shit), when suddenly a voice came out of a bush "Your country!". It seems to be a reflex in Indians that cannot be suppressed even in their most private moment of taking a dump...)

I, on the other hand, do try to adapt in some ways, if only to be able to advance in my travels and save time. My English dangerously deteriorated and I articulate myself in sentences like: "When bus coming?" or "Me already have dinner", and avoiding yes/no questions at all times.

I also had to reinvent my CV:
Now I am German (Austria is invariably mistaken for Australia and it requires a lengthy geographic explanation to illustrate the difference), I am married (being older than, let's say 18, and not being married is as incomprehensible to them as having no religion), so my husband is at home working, I am traveling with a friend (who accidentally is not with me right now), I am a journalist for a travel magazine, or in tougher situations: I work for the police/military, I have no money.

And now finally, my last photo album on India (including Hampi, Gokarna, backwaters):

India South

Writing this I am already in Sri Lanka - back to civilization, people speak English and sometimes apparently also the truth :)

I will check into the Ayurveda clinic on Feb. 18th, so maybe I can upload some stuff on Sri Lanka beforehand, but maybe I will be too busy surfing the waves...!