A quick glance

Or list of things I love about India:

-Autorickshaws-every major city would benefit from these agile, cheap, fairly environmentally friendly, quick trip people movers
-The smell of the fruit market
-The small fruit pyramids out on all the sellers tables
-The strings of jasmine flowers nearly every woman has in her braid, especially on Fridays, a natural perfume
-The salwar kameez makes so much more sense than pants for the hot, humid climate
-Jackfruit, papaya and mango "the king of fruits"
-Chipattis
-Temple music heard all around the city reminding you to pray that sounds like ice cream truck music, especially when they play "Oh when the saints go marching in" and similar familiar songs
-Church music on Sunday mornings heard all around the neighborhood reminding you to go to church-that sounds like jolly mariachi music
-Every part of palm trees from leaf to root is used for something when they cut them down
-The art of eating rice with my hand
-The art of eating rice with my right hand (Left hand, no WAY-right hand is for eating, left hand is traditionally for...other business, like keeping yourself clean. Therefore using the left hand for anything like waving or paying can be quite insulting. Thus, left-handedness is quite shunned in India and there are virtually no lefties. This has taken some adjusting and a few mishaps for a lefty like me. Fortunately, my obviously foreign complexion allows for many forgivenesses)
-No hot water for showers necessary
-Refreshing showers after such sticky days
-Appreciation for working electrical current
-Goats and cows all over the city who know exactly the path they're supposed to take
-Everyone stares at you, but they also smile and are very friendly and helpful. They stare a little less when at least your clothes blend in. They're even nicer when you say something in Tamil.
-Being excited about getting in the train-because there will be a warm breeze
-Realizing over and over how incredibly sheltered and environmentally unaware most Americans are
-No denying, saris are gorgeous-and versatile-one size fits all. I have yet to see an ugly one, even homeless women's saris are beautiful
-I am getting over my aversion to rice for every meal
-Cashew trees, palm trees, fig trees, jackfruit trees, mango trees, all manner of healthy fruits and vegetables growing all over the place
-The strangest things painted beautifully-like the backs of semi-trucks with faces, designs, and ornate "Sound Horn" message
-I have not been able to figure out the spelling for 'Colum' or 'Colom', a traditional Indian housewife's art form, an intricate design swept and put on the doorstep in powder or chalk each morning to invite Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and positive energy into the house
-the birdcalls each morning