There is a cow mooing outside my window. Loudly.

This prompts me to write and rant about India’s idiosyncrasies.
Power cuts. At least 6 times a day. Usually at the hottest time in the afternoon when you return from town or wherever, hot and sweaty and just needing the fan and a shower. The only good thing about power cuts is that if you are down in the center of it all, at the Lahkman Jhula bridge over the Ganges, the constant monotone chanting through a loudspeaker stops. Ahhhh. Quiet...

Earthquakes (the other day..hit Bhutan, but we felt it all the way over here)

The landslides when it rains...roads close. they get washed away. Mud is everywhere. And when it rains, it rains buckets

The head wobble. Indians do not like to say “No” to you. I think because of this they have invented the head wobble, which is a move that resembles those bobble doll-like things people put in their cars some years back. So, you ask an Indian if the road to the waterfall is still closed because of the landslide and you get the wobble. It means, Yes, No, Maybe, or I don’t know.

The obsession with stuffed animals and American-like toys. All of bright color and oddly displayed in homes, on gates, in store stalls. A bizarre addition to Indian culture.

Take off your shoes and have some Chai. Most store owners insist you have Chai if you buy something. At least in Rishikesh. Also, it is customary and courteous that you remove shoes before entering homes or stores.

Eat with your right hand only. This takes some practice. I don’t remember why, but you are only supposed to eat with your right hand. The left is not supposed to touch food.

I also recently dicovered the Indian method of using the toilet. That's what that little spicket next to the toilet is for..suprising and kind of jolting at first, but I now know why you can't get toilet paper anywhere. And the 'Indian' and 'Western' toliets on the trains. BYO TP..

Lassi. Although I keep trying I’ve decided I don’t like it. I don’t want to drink yogurt.

That cow will still not shut up outside!!