The Local Scene 3

Having been here now for a month and a half I am increasingly struck but what seems like amazing contradictions. For me the following 3 simple (and perhaps a touch superficial) questions illustrate how hard I'm finding it to fully get inside the Indian mind.

1. Why is it okay to relieve yourself on any street corner but you need to wear underpants whilst showering (even, I think, in the privacy of your own home)?

2. How can you live daily without fear of the many mosquito borne illnesses (and therefore do very little to prevent mosquitoes being everywhere) but fear chilled water because it's guaranteed to give you a cold?

3. Why after a small child has ridden around on a motorbike in the incredible air pollution of this city all week is her cough blamed on having drunk grape juice 24 hours before?

Living with a local family has been an amazing experience for me. It has given me a real taste of life here and shown me many of the great strengths of the local culture. However, it has also had its frustrations and is incredibly exhausting. The locals joke I am becoming more Indian and it's been wonderful how they have welcomed me into their lives. It has though been exhausting and continues to take the practice of grace when confronted with confusions and contradictions, many of which are more challenging than the silly examples above.