I have a friend who moved to London a couple of years ago and started a blog. She stopped posting as often as her life in London became "normal" and she felt that it wasn't anything to write about. Granted, moving to India and moving to London are two vastly different experiences, I feel exactly how she does at times. I want to continue to write about our adventures and life here as we navigate the next 32 months and remember that our "normal" is not the "normal" people back home are used to. Stewart did a great job in his post a couple weeks ago about what the day was like. For us, it was completely "normal", we didn't do anything different or fun but as he wrote about our experiences, it's easy to see that it's not like a typical day in the states.
Fall has started. Well, at least that's what the calendar tells us. Over here, it's still the same hot temperature but not nearly as hot as it was this summer. Wow, I thought Texas got hot in the summer time! It's all relative though. The temperatures are about the same but the difference is in Texas, you get into your air conditioned car and drive to your destination that's most likely also air conditioned. Not the same here. If you have a car, you get to ride in air conditioning, otherwise, you're in a taxi with the windows down breathing in hot air and car exhaust that's blowing in your face. You head to a market that's outside and sweat like crazy (even if you're not the type that normally sweats - you're going to sweat A LOT). So our days have cooled down a tad. I'm no longer dripping in sweat after a day outside but still very hot. It's no longer punishment having to wear long pants or sleeves.
Oh, that's another thing that I've noticed here. I've grown accustomed to the "dress code" for women. Back in the states, I rarely wore shorts so it wasn't that big a deal to not wear them here. They say to make sure that your knees and shoulders are covered here so that you don't draw attention to yourself thus lessening the chances that you'll be groped. I've gotten used to throwing on a cardigan with my sundresses and always making sure that I'm dressed conservatively (note: this does not apply to men - they can wear material wrapped around their waist like a skirt or just hang out in their underwear apparently). I notice when I see people not from India dressed inappropriately and find myself wondering why they aren't dressed appropriately. It's definitely not something I thought about before when it came to traveling. One should definitely check to see what you should wear when traveling through a new place. I'll admit, I was even slightly offended at the Taj Mahal when I noticed a group of girls in short shorts and skimpy tank tops. This is a place that until recently required women to have their head covered (and men had to be dressed reasonably as well). I guess this is all part of being acclimated.
Fall has started. Well, at least that's what the calendar tells us. Over here, it's still the same hot temperature but not nearly as hot as it was this summer. Wow, I thought Texas got hot in the summer time! It's all relative though. The temperatures are about the same but the difference is in Texas, you get into your air conditioned car and drive to your destination that's most likely also air conditioned. Not the same here. If you have a car, you get to ride in air conditioning, otherwise, you're in a taxi with the windows down breathing in hot air and car exhaust that's blowing in your face. You head to a market that's outside and sweat like crazy (even if you're not the type that normally sweats - you're going to sweat A LOT). So our days have cooled down a tad. I'm no longer dripping in sweat after a day outside but still very hot. It's no longer punishment having to wear long pants or sleeves.
Oh, that's another thing that I've noticed here. I've grown accustomed to the "dress code" for women. Back in the states, I rarely wore shorts so it wasn't that big a deal to not wear them here. They say to make sure that your knees and shoulders are covered here so that you don't draw attention to yourself thus lessening the chances that you'll be groped. I've gotten used to throwing on a cardigan with my sundresses and always making sure that I'm dressed conservatively (note: this does not apply to men - they can wear material wrapped around their waist like a skirt or just hang out in their underwear apparently). I notice when I see people not from India dressed inappropriately and find myself wondering why they aren't dressed appropriately. It's definitely not something I thought about before when it came to traveling. One should definitely check to see what you should wear when traveling through a new place. I'll admit, I was even slightly offended at the Taj Mahal when I noticed a group of girls in short shorts and skimpy tank tops. This is a place that until recently required women to have their head covered (and men had to be dressed reasonably as well). I guess this is all part of being acclimated.
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