All good things take time

Several weeks have passed since my last entry and many things have happened in the meantime. But in this post I will focus on the cultural differences and aspects I've come to know since I'm here... 

Having been in Nepal and India before, I’d say that the cultural shock was minor. Yet getting to know the environment and way of life here in Madhya Pradesh was of course very exciting and took some time. In the beginning, I couldn’t take enough pictures of the beautiful ox-carts and observed and questioned everything about the agricultural or cultural practice here.

This fascination unfortunately decreases quite fast and things start to become normality. But of course I’m still eager to get to know much more, the curiosity remained. I’d still love to learn about each tree or plant and everything I cannot identify on the market or elsewhere… And I still try to remember as many Hindi words as I can, but in the meanwhile I’m often too exhausted for that.

Normally, our days start at 8:30 with the breakfast here at the “Campus” called Training Centre. The Research Centre, where Seraina and I work at, is only a short walk of some minutes down the road. Once we arrive there and receive warm greetings from whoever is already there, the working atmosphere comes up only slowly. First, the morning Chai is served and the team members discuss this or that while slowly starting the day of work (ok, now this might not be fair, because it does not always include everyone and I am not aware of how their mornings look like at theirs homes…;)).

But the handling of time is for sure the most obvious cultural difference between India and Switzerland. Ten minutes usually become at least half an hour or easily more. However, I feel that I cannot judge the efficiency with which the work is done. Mobile phones are an extremely essential tool in the organisation and planning of everything. Of course, how else would they get anything? How else could anything be arranged? Their mobile phones ring all the time and there are no situations such as meetings or discussions, where they are not answered. So you just wait for the person to finish the phone call and be at your disposal again… and no excuse is expected, even if one needs to repeat what was said in the meantime. What is more, the ringtones could not be any fancier and the volume needs to be at its maximum so that it can also be heard when on the motorbike… ;) This made me laugh so many times (e.g. some song with the lyrics "you're my pumpkin pumpkin hello honey bunny" and this AT WORK from the phone of a grown up MAN?! :D). 

But I think their spontaneity and relaxed manner is great! The noise however, can really start to unnerve when you try to concentrate or when you’re not feeling quite alright.

The same goes for traffic. I am not sure if any Swiss person would be able to display as much patience and nerves when it comes to the many obstacles on the roads, their overtaking practice and the constant horning! The number one discipline my colleagues from work need to excel at is to slalom on their motorbikes through sheep, goat or cow herds and breaking down and speeding up again endlessly. When I sit on the back of the motorbike on one of these rides I enjoy seeing so much of the country, but I’m done in the end and my head feels dizzy from all the bumping on unpaved roads.

I can really learn a great deal from this stressless way of living with whatever fate may bring. And another thing I really think is wonderful is how people are all so very warm hearted. One is welcomed and invited all the time, people love to serve you with their delicious food, they love to show you their homes, introduce you to all their family members and they’d love to show you the places they know and consider as worth seeing! Shouldn’t we welcome tourists in Switzerland with a bit more hospitality?

On the contrary, what makes me sad here in India is that the rubbish problem is still as big as ever and (at least here in the countryside) nothing is done about it. Even in their minds it seems that nothing has changed. After eating or drinking all the papers, packages and bottles are just dropped on the roads or fields. At work or during workshops we tell our Indian friends not to, and they apologize… But what does it take to really change this habit?