I don't want you all to think that all I'm doing in India is stamping out disease. :)
My posts from now on titled "Everyday India" will be about the quirky, hilarious and fun things that make India so incredible.
Today's selections are (1) the head bobble and (2) the autorickshaw
1) Head bobble
This is something I noted on our very arrival to India when I went through customs. When I thanked the customs agent as he handed back my passport, he did the most curious movement with his head. "Hmmm?" I thought. I saw it again at the restaurant when I asked for a straw with my Pepsi. And millions of times at the hospital during rounds from both patients and doctors. What was this head bobble? What did it mean? It's not a head shake or a nod. The head actually rotates from side to side, the chin making an arc like a smiley face. It can be very subtle or very pronouncd, but never involving any part of the body other than the face. I couldn't take it anymore and had to ask someone, so I asked one of the Indian medical students who would least likely be offended by my cultural ignorance. She though my inquiry was quite hilarious and explained that it's totally a cultural thing, and that the head bobble means an infinite number of things-"yes", "you're welcome", "I'm doing fine", "I agree that doxycycline is the best choice for this patient", "No I did not step in front of your cow", "See you tomorrow".... I've kind of equated it for us Americans as a smile combined with a shoulder shrug and a thumbs up or down...that's the best I can do. I thanked the medical student for my enlightment, and...she did the head bobble.
2) The auto-rickshaw diaries
Ohhh the auto-rickshaw. Certainly my most favorite form of transportation in India. I fell in love with them the moment we arrived. Small, yellow boxes on three wheels. Sometimes adorned with festive flair and flashing neon lights if they are really classy. One seat in front for the driver (and sometimes a passenger), a bench in back for 3 passengers (well, the three passenger rule is just a suggestion as I will later explain). Auto-rickshaws are the cabs here in India, and they will whisk you away to anywhere that you desire with a toot of the bicycle horn mounted on the side and the "put-put" of the motor as it chugs along the street, narrowly avoiding the most imminent of collisions with buses, people, cows, other auto-rickshaws and bicycles. We had a particulary memorable ride in one home from dinner on Tuesday night, when the 4 of us, plus my roommate piled into one which involved lap-sitting, squatting in the back of the auto-rickshaw, and Michael up front. After a few minutes, our particularly spirited driver stopped and motioned me up front. He wanted me to help him drive. I immeadiately agreed and was an exceptional driver, tooting the horn as much as possible to make our presence known on the way back to campus. I love them so much I insisted to Michael that we take one home from work yesterday, even though we could have taken the city bus for 3 rupees each. He agreed (he loves them as much as I do), and insisted I let him bargain for one. A driver pulled up, we told him our destination, and he asked for 60 Rupees. Michael told him we'd give him 30. I let the bantering go on for a full 30 seconds (only because Michael really loves the sport of bargaining) untl the driver said 50 and I said "Yes!" and jumped in. Michael sighed as I had successfully ended any attempt at bargaining in my anticipation, and hopped in beside me and we were off, narrowly side-swiped by the bus on the right and 2 motorcycles (ridden by about 10 people) on the left. I let out a joyous "Yay!" as India passed by us on our way home. Hopefully we'll take one today!
My posts from now on titled "Everyday India" will be about the quirky, hilarious and fun things that make India so incredible.
Today's selections are (1) the head bobble and (2) the autorickshaw
1) Head bobble
This is something I noted on our very arrival to India when I went through customs. When I thanked the customs agent as he handed back my passport, he did the most curious movement with his head. "Hmmm?" I thought. I saw it again at the restaurant when I asked for a straw with my Pepsi. And millions of times at the hospital during rounds from both patients and doctors. What was this head bobble? What did it mean? It's not a head shake or a nod. The head actually rotates from side to side, the chin making an arc like a smiley face. It can be very subtle or very pronouncd, but never involving any part of the body other than the face. I couldn't take it anymore and had to ask someone, so I asked one of the Indian medical students who would least likely be offended by my cultural ignorance. She though my inquiry was quite hilarious and explained that it's totally a cultural thing, and that the head bobble means an infinite number of things-"yes", "you're welcome", "I'm doing fine", "I agree that doxycycline is the best choice for this patient", "No I did not step in front of your cow", "See you tomorrow".... I've kind of equated it for us Americans as a smile combined with a shoulder shrug and a thumbs up or down...that's the best I can do. I thanked the medical student for my enlightment, and...she did the head bobble.
2) The auto-rickshaw diaries
Ohhh the auto-rickshaw. Certainly my most favorite form of transportation in India. I fell in love with them the moment we arrived. Small, yellow boxes on three wheels. Sometimes adorned with festive flair and flashing neon lights if they are really classy. One seat in front for the driver (and sometimes a passenger), a bench in back for 3 passengers (well, the three passenger rule is just a suggestion as I will later explain). Auto-rickshaws are the cabs here in India, and they will whisk you away to anywhere that you desire with a toot of the bicycle horn mounted on the side and the "put-put" of the motor as it chugs along the street, narrowly avoiding the most imminent of collisions with buses, people, cows, other auto-rickshaws and bicycles. We had a particulary memorable ride in one home from dinner on Tuesday night, when the 4 of us, plus my roommate piled into one which involved lap-sitting, squatting in the back of the auto-rickshaw, and Michael up front. After a few minutes, our particularly spirited driver stopped and motioned me up front. He wanted me to help him drive. I immeadiately agreed and was an exceptional driver, tooting the horn as much as possible to make our presence known on the way back to campus. I love them so much I insisted to Michael that we take one home from work yesterday, even though we could have taken the city bus for 3 rupees each. He agreed (he loves them as much as I do), and insisted I let him bargain for one. A driver pulled up, we told him our destination, and he asked for 60 Rupees. Michael told him we'd give him 30. I let the bantering go on for a full 30 seconds (only because Michael really loves the sport of bargaining) untl the driver said 50 and I said "Yes!" and jumped in. Michael sighed as I had successfully ended any attempt at bargaining in my anticipation, and hopped in beside me and we were off, narrowly side-swiped by the bus on the right and 2 motorcycles (ridden by about 10 people) on the left. I let out a joyous "Yay!" as India passed by us on our way home. Hopefully we'll take one today!
someone else finally noticed the head bobble!!! everyone thought i was crazy when talked about it!!
ReplyDeletehave a blast!
FB