What Do You Mean?

This question seems to haunt my life here. I think that I am getting along fine until I realize how many times a day I ask this question. You don’t realize how much you are learning on a daily basis even when you are not trying to. India just bombards your mind and senses and it is no wonder that I am so mentally exhausted by the end of the day even when I didn’t think that I accomplished much.

I look around the office and no one is working and upon inquiring I find out that it is another holiday. What this time? Oh, it is some Guru/God/famous persons’ birthday/death/great accomplishment. If you haven’t noticed the trend in my blogs Indians are always celebrating something, and I am always goggling/wiking to figure out what the heck is going on. I think it is just as an excuse not to work… Just yesterday I found out that they used to celebrate thanksgiving in the office. I asked if they knew what Thanksgiving was…Nope…like I mentioned just another excuse to celebrate.

In a normal day I am lost and confused at least 20 separate times and need to ask for clarifications. I constantly break Indian nuances and superstitions and they just assume that I know these things. For instance, you are not supposed to hand someone scissors because if you do, it means that you will fight in the future. What I thought was a simple question: What is the Indian equivalent of a Sophomore and Junior? A 10 minute discussion ensues.

I recently ordered a book called “Speaking to Indians.” Chapter 1: Yes means Yes, or Maybe, or No…how to tell

I was a Speech Communication Major in college for goodness sake. I studied small group and interpersonal communication. In the states I am clear and concise. In India, no matter how many times I repeat myself, speak slowly, and make analogies to my main point – the Indian mind cannot grasp my intensions and I can’t decipher their codes and hidden meaning either. Makes for difficult meetings, and boy is that frustrating.