My Experience as a Foreigner in India

I went to India for the first time six years ago, which was to attend a learning program in Bangalore. After that, I have taken quite a few trips to the country, each of which has contributed to enhance my perception about India. During my last visit in Bangalore, I was volunteering as a teacher in a distant village. Wherever I went, kids and even adults would call me akka. They would point and stare at me, and some kids even followed me wherever I went. However, all these staring never made me uncomfortable because I had understood it quite early that these villages had never seen a foreigner in reality!

Well, this was not easy to grasp, but I had become habitual of these stares.

I would go to school, and every children in the school would beam up and shout, akka, in the loudest voice possible. The mother of one student once remarked that I looked like someone from the TV, maybe even more gorgeous than that. I had picked up a few Kannad words by then, and I felt immense gratitude towards that woman. People in India, I had heard, are sincere at heart. I would constantly witness there kind behavior every now and then.

The adults would often come to me and ask about my home, my husband, my studies, my salary, and my friends back home. Every person I met wanted to know about my life. After a few months in the village, one fellow-teacher pulled me aside and asked me,

“Why don’t you behave like other foreigners?”

That left me perplexed and I asked for further clarification. She said, “akka, I am surprised that you are American, and yet, you don’t smoke, drink, or consume drugs. You don’t go for late night hangouts, don’t have a boyfriend, and you don’t eat non-vegetarian food. You respect all of us, share our food, pay with children and teach them. You have already learned a bit of Kannad and you seem to be a decent person. You are like family to us now.”

I explained it to her that the smoking, drinking, and eating meat are considered right and wrong in different parts of the world. I don’t do any of it because it is my choice and that I prefer to live a simple life. I realized that she had made a perception about foreigners just as I had made the same about Indians. I helped to clear the stereotype image in her mind, and she was happy to hear my views.

When I had to leave from the village, had booked a Car Rental in Bangalore without driver. The entire village gave me a warm farewell, and a couple of villagers helped me reach the place to pick up the car. It was a profound moment for me as I said goodbye to those dear people. Although I may never visit them again, I will have their memories in my heart forever.

How My Dog Welcomed a New Member to the House

Dogs have much higher intuition than the humans. While everyone knows that dogs can sense things that are going to happen, it is still a miracle to witness any such incidence on your own. We had heard that dogs already know it when a lady in the house is pregnant. However, not many Indians keep dogs, especially when they have little kids in house, so we had never heard any story about a dog sensing a pregnancy.

We had a golden male Labrador who was very fond of all of us, and he loved playing with anyone who would come home. A week before I got to know that my wife was pregnant, King, the dog had started behaving much funnier than he was. He would be elated whenever he saw someone. He would roll on the floor and sit in my lap so that he can get a head massage. Although he had his designated bed to sleep, he would come between me and my wife every day to sleep for the entire week. He would embrace us like a baby and never stop licking us. We would have to hand-feed his food to him, at least his first bite, and only then he would eat the rest of his meal.

We were amazed at this sudden change in his conduct, but we realized it only a week later when we got to know that Riya, my wife, was pregnant. We realized that King already knew about the baby in Riya’s belly, which is why he never left her side since then. He would never stop licking her at any given chance. Whenever she would eat food, he would sit beside her. As she went for a shower, he would sit outside the bathroom as if he wanted Riya to come our safely and should not hurt herself in the bathroom. Every time, she would cook food in the kitchen, he would dance and rejoice outside the kitchen as if he is happy that the mother of the house is cooking food for him and the new baby.

The delivery

I did not want to trust the cabs in the traffic, so I had hired Self-Drive Cars in Bangalore and went to the hospital with Riya for her delivery. Around 4 am, my mom called from home and said that King had suddenly started barking at the door, but he seems cool. He was taking rounds around the house and jumping on the bed and sofa, and would not let her sleep. The moment my mom told this to me, I told her that King knows about the arrival of the new baby in the house.

Mom was elated at the news of the birth of a baby girl. As we got the baby home, King would never leave her side. He had got his sister in the house. That is when we again realized that dogs are actually much more intuitive than humans.

Why it is Fine not to Travel Alone

I have a problem, a problem with solo travelers who think so high of themselves and belittle non-solo travelers. I have traveled alone to a few places, loved my secluded time, but that does not mean that I would want to indulge in solo travel every time. Solo travel is not the sole best way to travel. I have seen many solo travelers bragging about their experiences, and they make sure that they make other people feel like they are missing something in life if they do not go to place alone. Many experiences in life are unique, but that does not mean that everyone should indulge in them to attain nirvana!

Many people, for example, would never think about scaling the Mount Everest. Does that mean that their life is incomplete?

Never!

I have not done bungee jumping yet, but I do not consider myself any less of a traveler. I am a mountain-trekker at heart, a sleeping buddy at the beach, and a random person on the streets of the world. I love to wander around places all alone, but that is because I have a personality like that. I like to be on my own. I like the space solo travel gives me, but I never brag about it. I hate promoting the notion that I am, in any way, superior to others. When I started solo travel, I had no idea that it would become the coolest thing on social media. I had never even thought about it. It was just more convenient for me to go around alone than wait for people to accompany me. However, I love traveling with people whenever we can make a plan.

Traveling with family

Whenever I go out with my family, I love the time I spend with them. Even if it is a short weekend getaway, I make sure to be with them. As they say, “We owe our life to our parents.” I feel the same obligation, as well as, love towards them. My parents and siblings are a cool set of people; they do not bore me at all. That is why; I love their company even if I have to go to a place like Thailand where other people would not even think about going with a family.

The spirit of travel

I don’t let anyone judge me for what I do. I have the adventurous spirit in me and the curiosity to explore places. I have the freedom to do things I like, be at places I dream about, and be with people I like. Then why on earth, I should not visit places with people. Personally saying, I get bored of my company sometimes. That is when I like to be with friends or family.

Solo travel may be fun sometimes, but not always. When the Self-Drive Cars in Bangalore were launched, I wanted to go for a road trip, but not alone. So I called two of my friends and convinced them to accompany me to Coorg. I got to drive an SUV for the first time, and I had a blast for sure. I, sometimes fall short of words when I comes to explaining my feelings to anyone. Friends are an awesome gift from God.

People are often educative, so are my friends. I love talking while driving or trekking, maybe about politics, education, country, or any random thing in the world. However, I make sure that I talk witt informative people. Many travel buddies have given me unforgettable memories, which would never have been possible if I were alone.

New Forms of Scams around the World

The world has changed for sure, at some places for better, and at the other sites for worse. Pickpocketing sounds like an age-old practice that the crooks would resort to when they did not have the brains to do anything else. Nowadays, the goons have become so smart that they would steal your money right from under your nose, and you would realize it only when it is too late. The old tactics of stealing money have taken new forms, and it is easy to fall prey to them.

Pickpocketing

Imagine you are watching things and people at a crowded place like the Gateway of India in Mumbai, or New York’s Times Square. Suddenly, you hear loud voices coming from your back, and you turn around to find two people exchanging heated arguments. In no time, they start fighting with each other. Rather than asking them to calm down, people prefer to stay away. Many people, including you, even begin recording the ongoing event to upload it on YouTube later. As soon as the scuffle gets over, you start watching the video you just recorded. However, you realize in a few seconds that someone stole your wallet as you were watching and recording the fight. Doesn’t it teach you to stay away from brewing dramas in every country and walk away? Yes, you should do that.

Fragile items

Most scams require more than one person to run the act successfully. Whenever you go to a shop that sells fragile things, they would clearly mark it not to touch the products unless you want to buy them. However, the shop of a scammer operates in a different manner. The shopkeeper would place every item in your hands while telling you about their qualities and how rare they are. In reality, they are just fragile junk products that are meant to break in your hands. As soon as something breaks, the seller will raise his not-so-sweet voice, and demand a huge payment for the antique product, which was actually waste.

The shopkeeper often calls the attention of other customers in the shop, who are actually his companions in the scam. A couple of people would pose against you, but one of them would be in your favor to act as a kind person. Now this kind person would be the one who would persuade you to pay the money to avoid any problem in a new city. Even if you plan to call the police, you might find that the police is involved with the crooks.

Do not feel scared

Whether it is in Bangalore, Mumbai, or New York; you have to be cautious of the events happening around you. The age-old scams have just acquired new faces. Use your intuition to judge whether something is right or wrong. If your inner voice asks you to step back, do not hesitate to do so. You have all the rights in the world to raise your voice and call the attention of other people whenever you fear that someone is trying to coax you into paying a bribe.

While renting Self Drive Cars Bangalore or buying souvenirs in Cuba, do not pay attention to anything that seems too reasonable to be true. Research well about the place you plan to visit, find out the current scams going on at the site, join online forums, and grab as much information as you can. You may not know everything about every city before visiting, but it will give you a fair idea about how you should conduct yourself on foreign land.