Talking in "In-glish"

A definite highlight of this trip has been the random conversations I've had with people at the train stations, on the bus, at restaurants...People in India learn English starting from nursery school, so anyone who has gone through school has a pretty firm grasp of the language, except their usage is definitely "Indian". For example, instead of asking, "Where are you from?" they ask "What is the name of your country, please?" Even more confusing is their use of present progressive, "Where are you coming from?" I'm always wondering if they mean where did I just come from (like my hotel), where have I just been (the last city in India I visited), or where I'm from. I showed one person my pictures from the Golden Temple, and he kept laughing and saying "Very strange, very strange". I was really worried - had I taken some inappropriate pictures? But then he said, "I am thinking you must be a professional photographer. Wonderful." Only then I realized he didn't mean "strange" in a bad way. Most people aren't that shy about using English, even if it is just a little. One teenger said hi to me and asked me where I was from. When I tried to ask him some questions, he apologized for his "incomplete English" and walked away! Well, at least he made some effort! Wonder what it'd be like to teach English here...

It seems like a lot of people also want to know your age, your marital status and your religion. On the way from Amritsar to Delhi, I had a very interesting conversation with this Sikh man sitting next to me. Having just come from the Golden Temple, naturally I asked him all about his religion and he seemed to be very surprised that I didn't have a religion saying that is was "a very necessary thing" and that "there is no harm in it". He was even more surprised that at my age, I am not married yet, saying that "it was my duty to plan for my life". It was just like sitting next to my dad! Still, apparently I have "a good attitude" and I "will find a good husband"! (hah!)

anyhow, that's all from delhi for now. Met up with Aggie a couple days ago and am started in the Intrepid tour tonight. It'll be really different, going from solo to travelling with a small group, but I'll probably learn a lot. It's nice that we have a lot of free time as well. In a couple days we'll be going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal! Looking forward to getting OUT of sweaty Delhi...had my ass grabbed this morning!!! Definitely people from smaller towns are more sincere and kind, although Agra is quite touristy. Namaste.