Its official, "I have become very 'German.'"

Many of my friends and colleagues have been telling me, 'I have become very 'German' in my ways.'
More often than not, the statement me defensive.
But not today.

Today I realized, among other things, there is definitely ONE aspect in which I am closer to being 'German' than 'Indian' - i.e. revealing information that I consider private - information that is nobody's business.

The Indian, the 'social,' 'class' and 'cultural' distinctions forced me to reveal information that I strongly believed was nobody's business - not even my immediate family members. I feel really SHITTY about it.
I realize and am aware that I cannot change the Indian society in some aspects.

But, I have learnt to respect some aspects of another culture. Yes, Germans draw very clear lines between what's private and public. Something not easily comprehendable for many. Since I have been exposed to it and have been dealing with it, I have grown to respect this trait. 

Cultural diversity for me, is interesting precisely for this reason - to let diverse cultural traits influence you - you make the choice of what makes sense for you, adopt it into your own way of thinking, into your own life and belief.

To this trait in particular, here are somethings I promise to myself:

• I will put my judgement, perception, conscience before asking someone something if it is something I can / cannot ask. - Whether the information is really important for me. Can I live without that information?
• I will not 'IMPOSE' myself on anyone and DEMAND information that may not be something someone wants to share.
• If I do ask someone something, I will give them the choice to tell me, "I do not want to tell you," and I will accept it with all due respect.

I may pay the price of being percieved as someone too 'detatched' and 'non-talkative' by my fellow Indians because it is common practice to be inquisitive and ask just anything in the name of being 'friendly.'

I am willing to pay that price. I think I anyway give that impression to many :)

"A volcano erupted, so cannot make it for the wedding."

CNN interviewed some of the impacted passengers.
Two of many were people flying over for their wedding.
One of them, "skyped" in all the friends and families from the other side of the Atlantic to watch the wedding online.

I wonder, how a traditional Indian wedding would be handled in such unpredictable scenarios? Those thousands of invitees; there could be scenarios where the bride and groom are in not in the same location...

On second thoughts the likelihood of such a thing to happen may be rare because owing to all the elaborate rituals before the wedding, people would be in the desired location many days/ weeks in advance to the actual wedding date :P :D

Atlanta 3: Stuck here

The last time the volcano in Iceland erupted, it continued for over a year...
How long would it continue this time?

How long do I need to stay in Atlanta?
Thankfully, I am not in too bad a situation. I can go to the local office and work, can continue in a hotel room. But I still want to get back 'home' - more so now, when this seems like an 'open ended wait.'

Atlanta 2: Finding "veggie; healthy" food

Among Steaks and Original Hamburgers, the first challenge is to find any vegetarian food.
The next challenge is to find something not too greasy, heavy and large - something "healthy"

Looking to eat something around noon, I went towards 'Underground Atlanta.' Its an interesting little place. Lots of food stalls but none that offer something vegetarian. (I really missed having the ubiquitous bakeries of Germany where I could just get myself a croissant/preztel and a coffee)

Finally, I saw a 'Waffle House.' Among the huge combo meal options, I choose to eat 1 waffle with honey and a glass of cold milk. The size and 'guilt' factor did not make me want to do my body a favour and go for a jog immediately.

On looking around, I learnt that the Waffle House is a rather old establishment and saw an interesting sign board that read, 'Shirts and shoes are required to be served.' ha! :)

Atlanta 1: Recession?

In the country where a Chrysler 300 looks small
A mini really looks tiny
The Toyota Tundras and Chevy Tahoes, Hummers make their presence felt among rows of stretch limosines and beefed up engines on old vintage Cadillac. I have not seen a single small car or hatchback on the streets so far.

My hotel receptionist finds it queer that a 'Silver member' Marriott would like to use the Metro to get somewhere and not a Limo service. On a Saturday night, the Metro stations are empty. The trains are too.
I wonder if the metro system is making any profits to continue functioning.

Tons of advertisements on the telly, on how to make money...many of them stating, "no credit checks" (still?) and how to spend the money.

Looking around, it does not feel like this country was in severe recession just recently.

Metro/ tube a great 'equalizer'

The hip and stylish, a mother having a hard time controlling her naughty kids; sleepy passengers; book worms; the gadget freaks; a teacher correcting maths test papers; loud teenagers; lonely looking elders; musicians; dance school students; sports enthusiats; tourists; 'can't get enough of each other' couples...a riot of languages, multitude of nationalities, skin colors, races, walks of life...all going somewhere.

A public transport system like a metro - the lifeline for many global cities can be such an equalizer. A 'secular', system enabling humanity to commute, earn, connect, live.

I'm looking forward to times when such public transport systems brings people together in Indian cities. Mumbai local trains do so already, am hoping the Delhi, Bangalore metro do the same.

Urbanization

Traversing different regions of london city by the tube and on foot. I see a lot of garbage, homeless, general filth around - issues faced by all 'BIG cities' around the globe.

I realized, how much I like my, modest life in a small German town. While cities have all that buzz and energy, I'm not sure if I would like to be part of it day to day. I see so many people running aroud, trying to catch that tube/ bus...a friend who is waiting.


I recently read a statistic that claimed that majority of Germans live in towns and villages. I would like to think, there is some 'strategic' plan behind this to prevent masses from crowding the cities. German towns like the one in which I live in are very self sufficient. For most day to day requirements, there is no need to venture out. I love the fact that I'm still close to cities but not have to live in one.

I am a proponent of making it possible for people to have a  lucrative, good lifestyle in a town/ village.
Everyone having to move to a 'city' to have a livelihood is simply not sustainable in my perspective. The trend however is more and more towards 'urbanization'. Sadly not enough is being done globally to upgrade the towns/villages to stop this unsustainable flow towards cities.