I always enjoy the challenge to my sense of what’s “normal” that travel provides. India has provided plenty of that. For instance, a question or even a statement is answered with the Indian head bobble (imagine a bobble head going side to side). I still have no idea what it means. Someone saying yes does not mean affirmative necessarily either. It seems to be moreso wanting to be agreeable. When driving, the horn means everything from “I’m about to pass you,” to “get out of the way” to “let me over” to “look at me so I can wave.” Many vehicles have signs saying “please blow”. That ain’t normal or encouraged in America.  But here, you have to blow. People expect it or else you could cause an accident or hit someone. So I blow.  We were at a roadside restaurant and I saw everyone eating with their hands. So I ate with my hands.

There are several other ones that aren’t even India specific such as the metric system and Celsius temperatures and water spray for post poo.  Each of these differences in norms makes me reflect on ours and how they came about. If you’re not sure what your local norms are, think of how you talk, dress, eat, communicate, etc. The bottom line is, aside from a few  fundamental principles (education, freedom from enslavement, free healthcare–except in America, haha I kid), most everything you call normal is just normal to you, in your local environment. Of course differences in economic resources play a huge part but even then, how other places would operate would still differ. I think recognizing that your norms are simply local norms and not universal truths is very important to adapting in various countries and even within America.  Wherever I am, I attempt to follow the local customs.  There is no “right” way to eat except chew and swallow.

It’s important to know whether a norm is religious based or driven by some other exclusive group. Someone asked me if I was going to swim in the Ganges River and I said of course not. That’s an act of religious expression by those who belong to a religion which I do not. There’s a thin line between following local norms and treating actions meant for a  specific group as if they are for your enjoyment just because you want to.

Hopefully this all makes sense. If not, just go check out the video below of the Aarti Ceremony of Light on the Ganges (or the camel video– that thing is pretty good!)