My first official day in India and on the ride from the airport to the hotel my first thought was, "Hey almost everything is written in English". Not just the signs from the airport, but the billboards, the advertisements, stores, everywhere I looked I saw script writing (I am not sure what language) as well as English. I kept trying to wrap my tired brain around it but I just couldn't. Why would everything still be written in the colonial language?
I learned the next day in our classes. India has thousands of languages and dialects and in order to keep one group from gaining power over another they kept English as one of the main languages. In fact all students are taught English in schools. As I reflect on my own language abilities, I was only offered the chance to take another language when I got to high school. How much better could I speak Spanish if I had been given the opportunity to learn throughout my school years? What type of a disadvantage are students being placed in when they only have a few years to learn another language?
My other big discovery was Bangalore traffic. It is unbelievable. Apparently all drivers blow their horns and then wedge their vehicle wherever they want it. I have seen ten lanes of traffic inside two paved lanes. If you fit you can go seems to be the motto. Vehicle is also the right word because there are cars, buses, mini-vans, motorcycles, scooters, ox carts, bull carts, donkey carts, auto rickshaws and cows all competing for space on the roads. On side streets people are thrown into the equation. Chaos. Yet I didn't see anyone hit each other. Oh and for an American they all drive on the wrong side of the road. I made the decision that I will not drive here. It is adventure enough to ride or try and cross the street.
 |
| The auto rickshaw |
No comments:
Post a Comment