Cross-Cultural Thinking: My Cultural Moment

There are a handful of times when I had a “cultural moment” while in India, but none as surprising as the first. Day 1 of my arrival in India, I had to take a taxi to get from Lucknow to the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Nothing out of the normal I thought, just a taxi ride. I was wrong. Weave left, weave right; our driver was dodging cars like a movie stuntman. We were gliding in between cars, dodging people, and honking constantly. Screech, we stop out of nowhere for a speed bump. A rough ride is too nice of a phrase to describe the ride.

There was traffic on the way for some unknown reason, so my driver backs up and begins to drive on the road against oncoming traffic. Of course at this point we are all looking at each other, some in panic and others in wonder. On top of this there are cows on the road which have to be dodged throughout the trip. Apart from the surprise of driving past traffic, I was dumbfounded that none of the cars going the correct way were bothered by use driving on the wrong side of the road. Having traveled to other countries in the past, I was used to different driving conditions but none like India. My first reaction was that of excitement, since it was an adventure after all. Each time in a vehicle is an adventure in itself. From being an inch away from another vehicle or stopping on a dime, drivers in India never cease to impress me.

I learned much about transportation in India during my time here. For one, traffic rules in India it seems, are just a suggestion. Even when driving on the correct side of the road, which is your left, driving is very different than how Americans are used to. Nothing and I mean nothing stops traffic from moving forward. A car breaks down, drive around it. An accident occurs, drive around it. If there is traffic, drive around it. Cars, bicycles, pedestrians, motorcycles, all on the same road try and squeeze into any open space attempt to move forward. Unlike Americans, Indians mainly use honking as a form of communication to alert cars they are going to pass them or that they are close to them, something I found to be a good practice, till taken too far.

Fast forward 10 weeks later, traffic and driving doesn’t phase me. However, I still treat each time as an adventure. I ride autos the cheapest form of local transportation. I observe the landscape around me, the people, and the places. I will truly miss the openness of an auto, which has no doors, a variation of a golf cart. All modes of transportation here are an opportunity to learn and observe new things. From waiving hello to the neighboring auto, looking at waterfalls and farms from trains, to observing the country side from buses, most will fall in love with this country.