Christmas Day, Leaving Tomorrow

Friday, 25 Dec. 2009, New Hampshire: Well, like a parent postponing the "birds and the bees" conversation with his child, I can put it off no longer. I am going to have to explain the "left hand issue" with our traveling companions, Paul and Sue. To put it off any longer would be irresponsible on my part.

But I just hit on an idea! A cop-out, basically. I will copy and paste something from the web, thereby relieving me of responsibility for the contents and the indelicate phrasing! Just like a dad might email his son an explanation of how one makes a baby, rather than suffer all the hemming and hawing that a verbal explanation might entail. So I went out on the web and found the perfect thing. Here it is.
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Clothing
In India the best thing to do especially for women is to dress modestly. As a general rule, your clothing should be below the knee and should cover the shoulders. Bare shoulders are a sign of immortality [note from Matt: "and immorality as well, no doubt"] especially for women who will attract unwanted attention from men. Traditionally, Indian women wear a sari and blouse.. Only in major cities will you see women wearing skimpy clothing and then very rarely. The local men mostly wear shirts and pants. It’s acceptable for traveling males to wear longish shorts and tea shirts. You should avoid going bare chested especially in the remote areas. Most of the old people put a topi (hat) on their head. Wearing appropriate clothing is respectful and people will treat you accordingly.

Food
Most Indians eat with their hands and don’t feel comfortable while eating with utensils. They use their right hand for eating and left hand is used for toilet hygiene purposes. If you are invited into a house to eat you may find that they don’t have cutlery. You will be shown a place to wash your hands and face before and after eating. Your plate is considers as only yours once you commence eating you should not share or offer this food to anyone else. You should also eat everything that is put in front of you. If you feel you have been given too much food, ask them to take some away before you commence eating, this is perfectly acceptable and is more appreciated than wasting food.

Hygiene
All bodily secretion and products are considered polluted. A Hindu person will not step over your feet or legs. You should not touch people on the head nor should you touch or point your feet at people. This can be a grave insult. [Note from Matt: members of western audiences sitting on the floor listening to an Indian guru often have their legs outstretched with the soles of their feet pointing at the guru, not realizing that they are being extremely rude]. The left hand is also considered polluted; you should never offer it to someone. Normally Hindu people do not use toilet paper or tissues they find it unhygienic. In the toilet there will be water for washing your parts with. You should use your left hand only for this. Don’t expect to find toilet paper in private houses esp. in remote areas. Also you should note that in most hotels and restaurants toilet paper is provided but you should put it in the bin provided, not flush it down the toilet as this can block the plumbing. [Note from Matt: better pay attention to this. It would be a major faux pas to cause a toilet's contents to overflow because you are too squeamish to put the used toilet paper in the bin].

Men and women
Physical contact between men and women should be avoided in public. Though you will notice that it is acceptable for boys and to hold hands etc and vise versa for girls. Don’t be surprised to see boys walking arm in arm and hugging. These things are signs of friendship and should not be taken any other way. You will never see Indian men and women displaying signs of affection towards each other.

At The Temple
You should be especially sensitive about etiquette in places of worship. Dress conservatively and keep shoulders and knees covered. Always take off your shoes before entering. Beware that some Hindu temples do not allow non Hindus to enter. Also you should ask before taking photos of religious festivals, cremation grounds and the inside of the temples. If you are wearing leather belt you will be refused entry into the temple. Also you should note that cows are a sacred animal in India and injuring or killing them is an offence. You will find cows roaming freely all over the place.

Preparing for the Trip

Being gone a whole month is intimidating, mostly due to financial issues. The problem is that bills come due on monthly cycles, so you have to make sure that you've set up a way to pay them automatically, or prepay enough before you leave to cover the bills that are due before your return. I believe that Internet cafes will be common in Southern India, in which case we could just pay our bills online.

I have never had my wallet stolen, and I've traveled to about 40 different countries, but still I take (perhaps extreme) precautions against it. Having your wallet stolen in a foreign country is probably much more traumatic than having it stolen at home. So I stash cash in various caches on my person and carry a decoy wallet for pickpockets. I never leave anything of value in the hotel room.

The dining room table has been our staging area for a month. We pile anything we think we might want to take there, and also keep lists of things to bring. I will pack my suitcase tomorrow, then we leave the next day. I didn't want to actually pack too early, because in the past when I have done that I end up unpacking and packing about three times.

Catherine has planned and reserved all the flights, train rides, hotels, ashram stays and dental appointments. I don't know how we're going to work this, because I want her to walk three paces behind me in order to conform to Indian custom, but I don't know where the hell I'm going!

Last time we went to India (in 2001 for the Kumbha Mela) I was sick with a cold even before I left, and progressed to bronchitis during the trip. I was sick the whole damn trip. This time I am determined to stay healthy, but caught a cold when unexpectedly exposed to my cute and lovable little nephews and niece a couple of days ago. So, although it is as yet a mild cold, I'm spending a lot of time in bed and started taking antibiotics yesterday. I know all the arguments against antibiotics, but I just want to say, "antibiotics bin bery bery good to me". I intend on kicking this before we leave on Saturday, even though my relatively tough wife makes fun of me for being such a baby.