India, how have you spoiled me?

1. Grocery shopping – I don’t have to put anything in my cart, they do it all for me. Additionally, they show me the products. I don’t have to touch a single thing. Oddly enough, they let me push around my own cart. But once at checkout, someone unloads it, packs it, then pushes the cart to my car that’s waiting out front. The driver puts all my purchases in the car while I tap my foot impatiently, waiting to go.

2. Cooking – I don’t have to cook. Breakfast is made for us, dinner is made for us…I sometimes cook for lunch, but usually order out or meet Colin at the office.

3. Cleaning – I had a nice chat with little cleaning lady. Well, more like the person who employs her. She now keeps toilet things separate. The house is swept and dusted everyday. She mops every other day.

4. Laundy – it goes away dirty and magically reappears clean. However, Colin’s missing about 10 pairs of underwear and I suspect the gnomes have stolen them.

5. The driver – So glad we have him. I would never drive around here. I still maintain that this place is far too frightening to drive in.

India, how have you not spoiled me?

1. The general poverty – it gives me great pain to see others living in such squalid conditions.

2. The male population in general – I dislike having to keep my eyes averted and not making too much eye contact. Moreover, I hate being stared at by men everywhere I go. I really do not like it. I spoke about it with a native and she said more than likely they’re staring at me because I have such a ~ fair ~ complexion. WHAT WHAT WHAT?! All my life I’ve been told I’m too dark by my family…now I’m fair skinned? Compared to the relative population, I guess I am. *cue mommy’s voice as I was growing up* "You are so dark no one will want to marry you!"

3. Electricity – coming from the US, I always think I am going to have what I have back in the US everywhere I go. I’ve traveled a lot and lived in a lot of countries, but they’re usually extremely Westernized. I am not used to the brown outs and the transition from power to generator. It’s a bit disrupting and annoying. While I once found it charming and quaint, it’s now a royal pain in my ass. It’s been a lot worse lately, too. Yesterday I counted the power going out 16 times. Much as I am grateful for the UPS we have, I would welcome one day where the electricity doesn’t go out at all.

4. The mosquitoes…ARRRRRGH. I hate the wall of mosquitoes that line the front door. I hate being their next meal. *scratches at the new mosquito bite just above my right eyebrow*

5. No beef. ’nuff said.