As now I've sufficiently upset a few friends and family, I better talk about nice people.
I have met some very nice people. Certainly many of my friends are exceptionally nice, I don't know why I would hang out with them otherwise. I once was staying at a friend's house for twenty-four hours, moving through Delhi on my way to Darjeeling, and her mom woke up at three in the morning to see me off to the cab (and, as it was, give the driver directions in hindi).
One auto driver I met I negotiated for sixty rupees to take me back to college. He was a chatty one, asking where I was from, if I would have a love marriage or arranged marriage, how old I was, if I was Christian, etc. Finally when we got back to college, he only charged me fifty rupees.
(click "read more" for complete blog post)
Darjeeling was one of the nicest places I've been to with the nicest people. They would often stop you, ask where you were walking, and give further directions. They never bothered you about anything.
Everyone's family I've stayed with has been more than kind, offering to let me stay whenever I wanted, for my friends and family to stay when they wanted. They've taken me sightseeing, to holiday feasts, and overfed me several times.
When I went to Nepal, the guest house we stayed at worked with us for days to help us reschedule our flights, got me a doctor, a cab to the doctor, and mild food.
In my shared jeep from Sikkim to a train station in West Bengal, the driver had me wait and he hailed down a rickshaw, told them where I was to go, and how much I should pay. Later, when looking lost all on my own in a train station in West Bengal I can't even remember the name of, a random man told me what platform to wait at.
I realize that I have fewer stories that stick out in my mind about the nice people I've met. Often its just been a little empathy shown that has brightened the rest of my day. A few words of directions. A non-confrontational mannerism, or in some cases a complete offering of one's home and family.
In Dharamsala on Holi, an older man paid for my companions and my muffins and welcomed us as his guests. Apparently there is a saying in India that 'Guest is God.' While this is meant to extend to the public space as well as the home, it is not frequently observed on the streets. However once and a while it is, and it is always appreciated.
I have met some very nice people. Certainly many of my friends are exceptionally nice, I don't know why I would hang out with them otherwise. I once was staying at a friend's house for twenty-four hours, moving through Delhi on my way to Darjeeling, and her mom woke up at three in the morning to see me off to the cab (and, as it was, give the driver directions in hindi).
One auto driver I met I negotiated for sixty rupees to take me back to college. He was a chatty one, asking where I was from, if I would have a love marriage or arranged marriage, how old I was, if I was Christian, etc. Finally when we got back to college, he only charged me fifty rupees.
(click "read more" for complete blog post)
Darjeeling was one of the nicest places I've been to with the nicest people. They would often stop you, ask where you were walking, and give further directions. They never bothered you about anything.
Everyone's family I've stayed with has been more than kind, offering to let me stay whenever I wanted, for my friends and family to stay when they wanted. They've taken me sightseeing, to holiday feasts, and overfed me several times.
When I went to Nepal, the guest house we stayed at worked with us for days to help us reschedule our flights, got me a doctor, a cab to the doctor, and mild food.
In my shared jeep from Sikkim to a train station in West Bengal, the driver had me wait and he hailed down a rickshaw, told them where I was to go, and how much I should pay. Later, when looking lost all on my own in a train station in West Bengal I can't even remember the name of, a random man told me what platform to wait at.
I realize that I have fewer stories that stick out in my mind about the nice people I've met. Often its just been a little empathy shown that has brightened the rest of my day. A few words of directions. A non-confrontational mannerism, or in some cases a complete offering of one's home and family.
In Dharamsala on Holi, an older man paid for my companions and my muffins and welcomed us as his guests. Apparently there is a saying in India that 'Guest is God.' While this is meant to extend to the public space as well as the home, it is not frequently observed on the streets. However once and a while it is, and it is always appreciated.
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