A Story about the differences in culture (part two)

*******************************Where we come from*************************** *************************************************************************** Continuing yesterdays story....

Cultural differences are what makes world travel both exciting and occasionally just... so so. I have driven in most of the large cities in the United States and am never intimidated by traffic, so while the 15 minute taxi ride through the darkened streets of Delhi was a new experience, the real intimidating point was when we turned down this.....alley, and I saw the sign Hotel Ajanta. My instant reaction was OMG! What have I got myself into?

The hotel was fantastic, marble floors, mahogany paneling, a balcony overlooking the city....more than I had ever expected. {two weeks later upon my return to that same "alley"....I had learned it's actually one of the nicer downtown streets}.

It took me a couple days to really slow down and learn to appreciate India. In so much of the world I normally inhabit we are moving at light speed. There are people and places in India that compete with our driven culture... but the real India is a different place. I spent a part of everyday traveling by private car from place to place.... all totaled perhaps 3000 km.... I never saw anyone get angry...never. I watched a child of perhaps 6 carrying a basket nearly as big as she was... and she was smiling. I learned so much about life in my two weeks there.... and death as well.

One of the advantages of my growing old (there are a precious few!) is that I get to see how others handle the passings of their friends. India is one of those places of multi generational families, so from an early age Indians see family members grow old and pass away... or as they say "drop the body". I have sat on the river Ganga.... the Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi, and watched cremations and marveled at how the families dealt with what we in our western culture see as a terrible loss. Recently we in Secondlife have had two of our more prominent residents pass, and the sadness engulfed me as well for a few days.... until I sat on the beach near the Mexican border yesterday morning in a driving rain and thought about both my experiences in India and something I have learned as the years have gone. Both those people did everything they were destined to do in this life...... a conclusion tomorrow.

And so it goes

I love you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते