Another picture from the lost and found treasure trove of pictures, this one from my trip to India in August 2003 (it was my second trip to India, and a year before I spent the summer teaching there). It must be all the reading about the Silk Road I've been doing for my China course - I feel like Aurel Stein uncovering a lost city out in the middle of the Taklamakan Desert. I guess I like this picture because it very nicely expresses how easy we have it in the US - how we completely take all conveniences for granted. The thought of travelling down to the corner to get a chunk of ice seems so 19th century to us that we could not process the thought that this is a daily reality (and, in fact, a luxury) for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Of course, the other side of this relates to the fact that Americans (with our squeamish digestive system) would be much better off avoiding the ice. Probably one of the most valuable Hindi phrases to learn is "no ice" for ordering drinks. That said, in the end it's hard to avoid getting sick, and at least then you begin to build up some tolerance, which allows you to be more adventuresome in your eating habits.
No comments:
Post a Comment