As a visitor from abroad, what shocked you the most about India?

As a visitor from abroad, what shocked you the most about India?

Sommer Shiels, Part flower child and rescuer of ants, part business woman

Upvoted by Sudhanva Rajashekara, Indian andRicha Vyas, I am an Indian, exploring cultures of different nations aft…

Most Viewed Writer in India with 9 endorsements

I was asked this question today by a colleague after we filmed a live studio show: My response was: ‘How long do you have? Lets have a coffee so I can tell you the whole story.'

Ok, theres a few big things here and then some other small things: The first thing was so shocking that I spent the first few days after learning this, planning how I was going to bring this to the attention of the world…

1. SHARING: SHARING YOUR WATER: Westerners reading this, you are going to be shocked!! Indian people share their water… with EVERYONE. Let me tell you:

Let me give you a little hypothetical situation: You’re in India, walking around in Summer time, its hot, very very hot, you have no water, yet a family near you has a bottle, they will SHARE that with you…DO YOU COMPREHEND WORLD. Indian people share their water!! What the?!

Other cultures do not do this, it unheard of in fact!

Another situation I experienced. I returned to Los Angeles after 4 months in India and I went for brunch at a Hollywood Cafe, in fact I was having brunch at...YES you know what, I will name the place and SHAME them it was BEACHWOOD CAFE in North Hollywood. They were charging people for water in a terrible drought. This is the worst kind of opportunism… charging people for a free resource !?

I traveled through the whole of India and EVERY single place I EVER went offered a jug of water to drink…. THIRD WORLD COUNTRY…. MMMMM I think not! 

Indian people are more culturally sensitive and this concept of SHARING WATER should be emulated by the world.

 SHARE YOUR WATER!!! 

2. Respect. Teenagers and even young adults are so rude in many places. Teenagers and young people in India are respectful of others and their parents. I can’t even begin to explain the differences. The young people in India will take over the world - I’m not being overly bias. Im being honest. Let me explain: Western teens are pre-occupied with themselves and many have little respect. Indian teens are extremely respectful, studious and read…they read and study a lot…. (just look at the secrets of successful people like the late Steve Jobs and others like Richards Branson - both whom I’ve met at different occasions… They read… they read a lot plus they had/have respect for others! 

Me with Richard Branson: A man who respects others and reads...a lot!! 

Me with Amma 

3. Togetherness and sense of community. People in India, have a strong sense of community values, everyone is treated like a family member. Maybe some people will find this overwhelming, but Indian people are caring and will care for you! You will be invited to eat on the floor with a family, You will be treated as if you were part of the family. The whole community is strong and works as one entity. How amazing is that. We in the West have lost this

There are numerous studies to back up the health/psychological, not to mention life-lengthening. effects on people that have a strong sense of community.

4. Patriotism: One of the most memorable examples of this was when I was on a road trip through India and stopped off in the middle of the Thar Dessert- I stopped as I saw a make-shift set-up people were selling wares and I came to discover this was actually a camel auction. The little children with smiley, sun-kissed faces and dusty clothes were so patriotic, and they were living with bare essentials. They told me how much they loved India! I also experienced patriotism throughout the whole of India, I visited a school of teens who were so excited to chat with me and tell me about how much they loved their country. Even adults were so positive about the future of their country and culture. This positivity and patriotism is not as common in other countries… people complain about everything...

5. Last, but not least: let me introduce you to this concept of what my indian friend and I now named: ‘highway pooping’ LOL!! Ok ,seriously to the west seeing people poop outside is unique, I guess I covered a lot of ground so of course there were places where people go and make their business outside. My 74 year old father put it to me like this: ‘People in Paris were doing this in the 70’s’, it just goes to show that every country and propabaly every culture has gone through plumbing growth… ;) Still I like our saying of 'highway pooping'…. basically when you drive past people doing their Biz… You say ‘Highway pooping!’ its a little road-trip humor… and I guess immature and just us being silly!!

SMILE AND BE KIND… It makes you feel better and more attractive to others!!! 

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you visit India take note of how respectful the young are and how strong the values of the people are and cherish your time there!