how i'm surprisingly not too surprised...

so.

i've already been in india for 3+ weeks and decided to crack and start up this bloggin' business.

i'll be walking down the street, past cows and terrible smells...

but where do i begin?

i don't want to sound like a know-it-all or anything, but (like the title of this entry suggests), i am not as phased by my surroundings as i think i should be. i'll be walking down the street, past cows and terrible smells, getting hollered, gawked, and begged at, surrounded by an absurd amount of humidity, feeling a little vomitty, with sweat running down my back...and i won't think more than two or three time about anything.

well, maybe that's not completely true.

i guess what i'm getting at is that the physical differences around me haven't shocked me much at all. i had read about the cows and the scents and the gawking, hollering, and begging. these things have been easier for me to deal with than some other aspects of this society.

for instance...

having servants in my house: i enjoy them as people very much, so in that sense i am entirely greatful for their presense. i was very uncomfortable with the idea that it was their job to serve the family i'm staying with (and in turn, me). i try to help them out as much as i can without stepping on their toes. however, a sense of discomfort still persists. i don't want to "feel sorry" for them. i know this is a very western way of looking at the situation. maybe they really like their jobs. maybe they make more than enough to get by. i mean, i won't know unless i sharpen my hindi skills and truly converse with them. more than anything else, it's the hierarchical thread that runs through (what seems like) the whole culture that really gets me down.

from the whole idea of having servants...

to wealthy families feeling like they have "good" families compared to the "bad" families of the poor...

to my hindi professor talking to the entire class like we're 10 years old...

to husbands being served by their wives and not returning the favor...

...and it goes on.

these are all things i will have to deal with, i suppose. i'm not here to change or "enlighten" a culture with my 21 years of american-y thoughts and ideas.

i hope this blog entry doesn't make you think i'm having a rotten time here. i'm having a great time. everyday is an adventure, even if it's a really strange one. next time, i will tell you a funny story.

!!!