2013 was an extraordinary year for my husband and me. We arrived in India in January 23. Except for a few short visits to spend time
with his brother, my husband had been gone for 40 years, I had never been. We went to explore the possibility of outsourcing
our retirement and to reconnect with family.
I think the culture shock was more difficult for my husband
because of his childhood memories of India.
The most difficult was seeing the intrusion of American companies and women
wearing provocative western wear. He was
very surprised seeing the expanding Indian waistline. He has a saying, “America is leading the way
down the toilet and the rest of the world is following.” Growing up, plastic packaging
did not exist. The family had a compost pit and recycled everything. Today India's use of plastics along with poor
garbage management has resulted in a huge problem that is getting worse now
that disposable diapers are starting to be widely used. To my surprise, I think I adjusted quite
well. I expected the chaos of traffic, poverty,
and overcrowding, intermittent electricity and knew that there would be things
that did not always work well.
We rented a cottage, which is really an apartment according
to western standards, located in the Himalayan Mountains. The weather has been always comfortable for the
most part. The area is still uncrowded
and relatively clean. We thought seriously
about buying a house or land to eventually build. Looking back, I am surprised how
much I have changed. I left my western
clothing in the States and embraced the Indian culture. Many have told me that this has brought me
respect and my efforts were appreciated.
Some have said “you are more Indian than I am.” I have gained a sense of peace and well being.
Last year much of our time was spent learning how things
work and often times do not. We found
that we like living in India but fear that this will not always be so due to
the growing population and lack of infrastructure. India’s land area is 1/3 the size of the
United States and by the year 2020 it will be the most populous place on
earth. So far, getting around in India
is not easy. In many places the roads
are very bad and getting worse. One must
book a train ticket three weeks in advance and then you are on a waiting list
for the ticket. Sadly, I do not see how
things can improve. Corruption is rampant
and it is the expected way to get things done. When India gained her freedom from the
British she chose a socialist form of government.
India now realises that Socialism does not work. However, turning back from Socialism has been
very difficult. The Indian government is
so big it can’t get out of its own way. The
railways, many banks, airports, electric companies and other business are
government owned. Since the government worker’s
paycheck and job are not dependent upon performance customer service is almost nonexistent.
Inflation is another huge problem. When we
arrived in January, 1 US dollar equalled 54 rupees, now it is 62 rupees. For these
reasons we cannot think of investing in India any time soon, if ever.
Even with all of the chaos and uncertainty we do love living
in India. Economics is one big
reason. Health care is very affordable
and accessible in a lot of places. We
enjoy a good lifestyle including a full time cook/housekeeper at a very
affordable price. When we are in India,
even with all of the fixed expenses we have in the United States, we save
$2000.00 per month. The Indian people are also another reason. They are friendly and try to be helpful. Take a walk, say namaste and soon you are invited to tea, and later after tea, "Please come and stay with us when you are in Delhi."
We came back to the United States November 26. I did not expect to feel a reverse culture shock. The first thing I noticed was how expensive
groceries are and how limited really fresh vegetables are. Both Ram and I have lost 35 pounds, without trying due to our
Indian diet. I find it hard to duplicate
here in the states. There has been a huge
learning curve learning to cook Indian on an electric rather than gas
stove. Things just seem more complicated
here, the uncertainty of health care, taxes and insurance and the feeling of how
do we hang on to what we have. It breaks
my heart to witness America’s continued decline.
All in all, it has been good to be back in the States. I enjoyed seeing family and catching up with old
friends. It’s nice to be able to jump in
the truck and go where we want to go, when we want to go, and no planning, good
roads all the way. Yet, I miss my life
in India. Next year we will travel more
and see more of India. We go back in
April.
