Summer time.
When you start drinking tang in abnormal quantities even though you've never liked it.
When you plan entire days of travelling and exploring the city.
When you abandon all those ^ detailed plans because the mere idea of leaving your cool, ventilated home gives you a heat stroke.
When you feel the need to bathe every five minutes
When you crib about global warming as you turn on your air conditioners and spray yourself with deodorant for what seems to be the billionth time in a poor attempt to cool your burning body.
When you can’t sleep because you've run out of cool patches on your mattress.
When you wake up in a puddle of your own sweat.
When there is nothing worse than having to share any kind of seat with another person
But for some strange reason it’s when you manage to make all your best memories
So what’s my favourite part of this season? That's an easy one. Holidays!
Holidays are great, especially when you have exciting plans.
Do I have exciting plans? I may, I may not. I'd rather not tell.
I’ve come to realize that in India its best not to share any plans what so ever. Especially not if they're exciting. There will always be those paranoid auntyjees that will highlight everything that can go wrong, the poorly informed uncles trying to sound clever about something they know very little or nothing about and of course peers who always seem to have such amazing anecdotes from the past that you're sure your own experiences will never be able to live up to.
Luckily, those are easy to tune out.
It’s the “free advice” you need to watch out for.
While I’m sure that it is large heartedness and concern that compels people to offer their wonderfully helpful advice and not the inherent Indian disability to mind one's own business, listening to the bits and pieces of information your neighbours and distant relatives have to offer is avoidable. Especially if you are young and easily influenced.
I realized this when I was in the 9th grade. It was the summer of 2011 and I was travelling to London alone to visit a friend and her family. I’d been abroad before but always in the relaxing company of my knowledgeable family. The prospect of travelling alone though exhilarating was very very foreign and was giving me jitters.
A few weeks before my departure my parents just happened to mention to a few friends that I’d be travelling by myself. That was all it took to get the neighbourhood started on their detailed discussions of what I should and should not be doing. My poor, unsuspecting parents might as well have sent them all empty books to fill with their “advice and tips”, I’m sure we would have received several volumes.
In the weeks that followed I received many a phone call reminding me to carry extra underwear, hide money in my socks, not ever mention the words 'bomb' 'gun' or 'terrorist' as that and my brown skin would lead to several misconceptions, to always carry some chaat masala in my pocket in case the food was too bland, to beware of the rising hostility “westerners” subject Indians to and many more amusing, stereotypical things that I’m a little glad I don’t remember.
It seems pretty hilarious now, but then, I was terrified. The stories I'd heard and my wild imagination worked together ensuring many sleepless nights and plenty of last minute panic.
On the night preceding my departure I was a complete wreck. Sleep deprivation plagued me but all my nervous energy kept me from resting. I paced around the house and repeatedly checked on all that I’d packed. My mother noticed and approached me gently. “It’s going to be a great experience for you,” She predicted smiling widely at me. I tried to return her smile but I’m sure it looked more like grimace.
She stared me for a second and then offered me the last, most valuable piece of advice “Forget everything. Just have fun.”
I took her advice. Only hers. And she was right. It was a valuable experience.
I had an amazing holiday. Probably one that I'll always remember. Where other holidays are concerned this one was by far the most educating.
I learnt how not to be offended when a person asks you if you speak English. I learnt that when people come charging at you it isn’t always to mug you, they may just want a hug. I learnt that you can’t visit more than a single museum every day. But most importantly I discovered and learnt to exercise selective attention where “help” and “guidance” are concerned!
-Shreya
#yusoawesome #Rhetoricalquestion
When you start drinking tang in abnormal quantities even though you've never liked it.
When you plan entire days of travelling and exploring the city.
When you abandon all those ^ detailed plans because the mere idea of leaving your cool, ventilated home gives you a heat stroke.
When you feel the need to bathe every five minutes
When you crib about global warming as you turn on your air conditioners and spray yourself with deodorant for what seems to be the billionth time in a poor attempt to cool your burning body.
When you can’t sleep because you've run out of cool patches on your mattress.
When you wake up in a puddle of your own sweat.
When there is nothing worse than having to share any kind of seat with another person
But for some strange reason it’s when you manage to make all your best memories
So what’s my favourite part of this season? That's an easy one. Holidays!
Holidays are great, especially when you have exciting plans.
Do I have exciting plans? I may, I may not. I'd rather not tell.
I’ve come to realize that in India its best not to share any plans what so ever. Especially not if they're exciting. There will always be those paranoid auntyjees that will highlight everything that can go wrong, the poorly informed uncles trying to sound clever about something they know very little or nothing about and of course peers who always seem to have such amazing anecdotes from the past that you're sure your own experiences will never be able to live up to.
Luckily, those are easy to tune out.
It’s the “free advice” you need to watch out for.
While I’m sure that it is large heartedness and concern that compels people to offer their wonderfully helpful advice and not the inherent Indian disability to mind one's own business, listening to the bits and pieces of information your neighbours and distant relatives have to offer is avoidable. Especially if you are young and easily influenced.
I realized this when I was in the 9th grade. It was the summer of 2011 and I was travelling to London alone to visit a friend and her family. I’d been abroad before but always in the relaxing company of my knowledgeable family. The prospect of travelling alone though exhilarating was very very foreign and was giving me jitters.
A few weeks before my departure my parents just happened to mention to a few friends that I’d be travelling by myself. That was all it took to get the neighbourhood started on their detailed discussions of what I should and should not be doing. My poor, unsuspecting parents might as well have sent them all empty books to fill with their “advice and tips”, I’m sure we would have received several volumes.
In the weeks that followed I received many a phone call reminding me to carry extra underwear, hide money in my socks, not ever mention the words 'bomb' 'gun' or 'terrorist' as that and my brown skin would lead to several misconceptions, to always carry some chaat masala in my pocket in case the food was too bland, to beware of the rising hostility “westerners” subject Indians to and many more amusing, stereotypical things that I’m a little glad I don’t remember.
It seems pretty hilarious now, but then, I was terrified. The stories I'd heard and my wild imagination worked together ensuring many sleepless nights and plenty of last minute panic.
On the night preceding my departure I was a complete wreck. Sleep deprivation plagued me but all my nervous energy kept me from resting. I paced around the house and repeatedly checked on all that I’d packed. My mother noticed and approached me gently. “It’s going to be a great experience for you,” She predicted smiling widely at me. I tried to return her smile but I’m sure it looked more like grimace.
She stared me for a second and then offered me the last, most valuable piece of advice “Forget everything. Just have fun.”
I took her advice. Only hers. And she was right. It was a valuable experience.
I had an amazing holiday. Probably one that I'll always remember. Where other holidays are concerned this one was by far the most educating.
I learnt how not to be offended when a person asks you if you speak English. I learnt that when people come charging at you it isn’t always to mug you, they may just want a hug. I learnt that you can’t visit more than a single museum every day. But most importantly I discovered and learnt to exercise selective attention where “help” and “guidance” are concerned!
-Shreya
#yusoawesome #Rhetoricalquestion