Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Laughing all the way

Last night I came home to find my whole apartment flooded...

Not the most fun, to say the least... So I thought I'd try to find humor in my commute to work this morning. That's the great thing about India -- you just have to get out of your head, open your eyes, and it's incredible what you notice.

Some highlights from my ride to work:

(1) Whereas in the US, buses pull over and stop to pick up/drop off passengers, buses in India do one or the other (in other words: stop OR pull over)... but never both.

There's a bus "stop" near my apartment, but that's an oxymoron. Instead, buses pull over to the curb, indicating that the race to start running and get onto the bus has started. Buses slow down, but never actually stop moving. Men who make it onto the moving bus reach their arms outwards to grab their buddies who are still chasing the bus.

Alternatively, buses simply stop right in the middle of the road. People board and unboard... all the while cars, autos, and bikes steer around the bus, getting into all sorts of traffic jams from oncoming traffic from the other direction.

(2) One thing I love about our new office is that we're surrounded by elementary schools. So walking to work in the morning, all I hear is a cacophony of little kids literally SCREAMING: "AAAAAA!!!! BBBBBB!!!! CCCCC!!!!" It's the cutest thing ever.

(3) Where else but India are these "normal" sightings in a morning commute? -- a dog riding in the middle of a scooter; a little boy STANDING up behind his father on the seat of a motorcycle; babies bundled like it's the middle of winter... when it's 82 degrees!

The other great thing about India: marble floors and squeegee wipers. Still not sure what caused the flooding at home, but in the end, it's just another day here in Hyderabad :)

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