Spring Days = Spring Cleaning = Mother's Day

With Spring Days comes the idea of spring cleaning. Maybe I'm a little late in talking about this because I'm pretty sure that spring cleaning is in like April, but April was too cold this year so let's say that spring cleaning is in May.

I hate spring cleaning.

I'm not a neat freak. If my clothes are strewn around my desk chair (which they always are) I don't really mind. My parent's thankfully don't go on this cleaning binge. Everyone else I know does. I don't know any other culture that involves themselves in spring cleaning. It seems like a totally American concept.  I have no idea where spring cleaning comes from or why it seems to be ingrained in the American culture.

Another thing that relates to spring is Mother's Day. The Westernized countries were the only countries with this concept of Mother's Day until very recently. When my mom was growing up in India, there was no such things as Mother's Day. Now there is. But that's probably because India is becoming more and more of a Western power every day. Mother's Day celebrates the individuals who raise us. It definitely is a very individualist thing that is found in pretty much every individualist culture. In other societies, it isn't just the mother who raises her young. It's the aunts and uncles and the grandparents and even the neighbors down the street. Here, mother's raise their kids and that its. That's why we have a Mother's Day. That's why other countries don't.

                                    

Birthday Parties

In the year of sweet sixteen's, it may be shocking that I'm going to be talking about little kids' parties. Yesterday, I went to two parties. One was for a little girl who was turning three years old. The other was for a little girl who was turning one. The girl who was turning three had her party in the morning and the other girl had her's at night. My mom said something that really struck me as true. She said "You know, I don't think little kids realize what a birthday is until they at least turn four years old. Then what is the point of a birthday party?" Of course, this mentality didn't keep her from throwing me a first birthday party, nor did it keep her from throwing my sister a first birthday party either. Still, the thought is the same.

What does a one year old know about turning a whole different age? Nothing. The little girl was cranky the whole night (probably because everyone was trying to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks), she wouldn't let go of her mom (because she was scared of said people who wanted to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks), and she threw up at the beginning of the night (surprisingly, this has nothing to do with people who wanted to rub and pinch her chubby cheeks). She wasn't a happy baby. The other three year old girl was more concerned with the pretty dress she was wearing and the moon bounce in her backyard to realize that she wasn't just two anymore, she was three! Because you know, that's such a milestone birthday (well maybe it is because she's  no longer in her "terrible twos" anymore).

I think that birthday parties are good for teenagers who are excited to grow older and become "adults." Adults don't like birthday's because it's a reminder that they're that much older than said teenagers and little kids don't understand at all what they're celebrating. Birthdays are sometimes fun, sometimes annoying, sometimes a great (or horrible) reminder of just how old you are. Sometimes though, it seems to be a waste of time, money and energy. I understand that mother's want to celebrate the birth of their children. Hell, I'll probably throw a first birthday party for my son or daughter too. I understand the need and I know I'll probably do it when I'm older too. But it's definitely an interesting part of culture. 

It takes a village to raise a child?

When I go to India, there are three things that I notice. The food, the people, and the companionship. India is one of those places where you can't complete a run because people will be constantly calling you in to talk. Every time I go to someone's house in India, I have to sit there and eat everything that they give me to eat even if I'm not hungry. It's considered rude and impolite if I don't. At the time of leaving, I have to touch the feet of my elders as a sign of respect. Then, if it is my first time being there (or my first time in like three years being there) then the person who just blessed me gives me money. Which I will profusely refuse until they shove it into my hand or I shove it back into theirs. It's a routine that I've got down pat. There is no such "custom" here. If I go to a new person's house, I will say hello, make small talk, and then leave a couple hours later.

I digress. That was not the point of today's blog post. America is a very lonely country. My mom grew up in a family of 6. She never had that much money, but in all her stories of her childhood, she never once told me that she was unhappy. She grew up with a mother who tried to make her children's favorite foods whenever she could, and a father who would surprise his kids with ice cream when there was a little extra money. If her parents were too busy, she would be at the neighbors house talking to the adults there or over the hill talking to the kids who lived down the road. Even now, when I return my little cousin (who is barely three) is always outside with others or in someone else's home. When my parent's and I are in India, people will drop by without notice. One time, my aunt had to make tea fifteen times in one day, because we had so many guests at so many different times. Not one had called up before and said, "Hey, can we come over?" They just kind of arrived.

I know my mom misses that. Here there is not that kind of companionship. People don't just drop in because they feel like it. They call beforehand if they even come at all. People are so busy in their lives, that they don't take the time to make someone else's life a little brighter. You can have everything in this country . . . except the warmth of others. You can have social butterflies, but it's not the same. You can have people who will randomly stop you in the street, but that rarely ever happens. The way Americans are obsessed with their privacy hinders the interaction between perfect strangers, and that's not a bad thing. It's just different.

 In India, when talking to a person that you don't know, you address them as bhai (brother) if they are near your age and male, bhenji (sister) if they are near your age and female, kaka (fathers brother) or mama (mother's brother) if they are your parents age and male, and aitha (father's sister) or moushi (mother's sister) if they are your parents age and female. And if you come across and elderly person, you will address them as dada (grandfather) or dadi (grandmother). Here in the US, you have three options. Mr, Ms, or the person's name. It's not personal at all. The companionship, the kinship found in India is not found here. Maybe that's why Indian immigrants in this country find it hard to interact with American citizens. Americans seem a little blunter, a little ruder, a little more intimidating.

My cousin that I talked about before, the village pretty much raised her. It was not just her parents. It was her grandparents (who live in the same house as her), her aunts and uncles (blood related or not), her brothers and sisters (even when they're not really brother and sister) and the many other people of the "village." No one is offended if my aunt decides to drop my cousin Khushi (fun fact: her name means happiness) off at someone's house so that she can go grocery shopping. In fact, it's expected, just like eating every single thing off your plate is expected. It's how life works and I know that my mother found that life homey and comforting. The vast expanse of land here makes her miss the small streets of her hometown so much more. The loneliness here makes her miss her brothers and sisters. Life here is absolutely wonderful, but this one cultural difference sure makes life  a little bit harder.

My Weekend Without Time.

My weekend without time was absolutely stressful.

The preparation for it wasn't too bad. I had to cover up the times in the kitchen (only above the oven), the two cars, my laptop, and my upstairs bedroom. I left the clock in my parents room alone as I wasn't going to go in there anyway and I took down the clock we had in our living room. There. That wasn't too bad.

I began on Friday night at 8:30. It wasn't too bad that night. I think I ended up staying up late that night because I didn't know what time it was. I let my tiredness dictate what time I would go to bed, something that I actually liked. I hate having to go to sleep at a certain time (bed time anyone?) so that was one aspect of a weekend without time that I really enjoyed.

The next morning, I had to wake up early. I didn't set my alarm, and had my mom wake me up instead. She told me that I was late. I hated not knowing how late I was. Since I didn't know how much time I had to get ready, I rushed through everything, only to find out that we weren't going to be that late at all. I could have spent more time in the shower waking myself up! My parents then drove me to dance rehearsal where everyone threatened to tell me the time constantly. I got through that, but dance without time was very stressful experience. I'm usually the one telling everyone that they need to be ready in x minutes and that we were set to go in y hours. It was hard to depend on someone else for that time. That dependence made me very nervous and almost made my day less enjoyable. Of course, after we had performed and gotten off the stage, I relaxed and I ended up having a great time. I didn't pay attention to the numerous clocks that were around the auditorium, and I found that time flew by.

The next day was much more relaxed. I woke up later, but I didn't know what time, so I wasn't sure if I should wake up or stay in bed. I finally got out and began to do my homework. I will admit that my homework seemed to get done faster since I wasn't looking at the time 24/7. My problem is that I work for 45 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. As I'm working those 45 minutes, I'm constantly looking forward to that break, something that makes my work go by a lot slower. Without time, I just continued to work until I felt as if I could work no longer. And then I took a break until I thought I should get back to work. That worked very well for me and and I may begin to just shut off time every time I begin my homework from now on.

Overall, my weekend without time wasn't a very pleasant one. Of course, that may have been because of the fact that I had a dance performance on Saturday that was very time driven. Maybe, if I had a totally relaxed weekend, I would have liked not knowing the time a lot more. I did enjoy some of the day on Sunday despite not knowing what time of day it was. I think I might try this again someday, on a weekend where I have nothing planned. I think that the results may be very different. 

The Worldliness Of Einstein

I forget where I saw this picture. Probably Facebook which is ironic in itself. I recently looked the picture up again because I remember being struck by it the first time I read it. It's a pretty logical fear and a fear that is slowly becoming a reality. When I go to dinner with my families, I see teenagers on dates. Both teenagers are usually on their phones instead of conversing with each other. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a date? People will choose to text instead of call. They'll email or Facebook message instead of sending a good old letter. It's weird to see what the world has come to.

I think Americans are the most social people in the world sometimes. They're open, always ready to help and completely honest. I'm not stereotyping, these are the experiences I've had. If technology surpasses human interaction, which is quickly beginning to happen, what will happen to the culture of America? Already, teenagers don't know how to talk to authority figures because most interactions with teachers or principals are done over email. When those teens grow up, how will they talk to their boss in a board meeting? 

Technology is a beautiful thing, but I feel as though it is beginning to take over the American mind. I got an iPhone for my birthday. I took it to my cousins house and he laughed and stated that the iPhone was simply a fashion statement among girls and that his Samsung Galaxy something was so much better. 

Um, who cares? 

I guess the iPhone is a fashion statement. Like a "look I have an iPhone, I'm totally cool now!" kind of thing. It's taken over human interaction because it's made it easier to chat, to text, to video-chat through "Facetime." One day, we may all just work from home and never see each other face to face. Einstein had a legit fear that is coming true. The question is, do we stop it? Or do we allow it to flourish and ultimately suppress human interaction in the American society? 

Magical Movies

I've spent my springbreak sitting on my couch reading and watching various movies. Yeah, it's a lazy vacation, but it's definitely a relaxing one. I saw that movies have three things in common (most of the time.) There's a love interest, there's some action, and more and more often there's a hint of the supernatural. Supernatural/magic/science fiction movies are very common and very successful in the United States. People will rush to the theaters to watch them. The Twilight Saga was a huge hit as was Harry Potter. Various superhero movies come out every single year and most of them are big successes. Avatar was another movie that brought in a lot of money. Don't even get me started on the numerous amount of apocolypse movies there are out there. So what is it about the "fictional" genre that the American people love so much???
These types of movie are not practical everywhere. In India, a movie like Avatar would never work. Superhero movies would never work. Harry Potter would never work. Sometimes, my relatives in India will go see the occasional English film. If they're feeling daring, they'll go see a sci-fi film. Whenever I ask them what they think of that movie, they all reply with the same thing - it was okay.
I think the American culture enjoys a touch of the magical because they believe in miracles. Why? I don't know. But maybe that's the reason the supernatural/magic/science fictions movies do so well in this country. Because we all like a little bit of magic.

A Divided Church and State?

It's Easter Sunday and a lot of things just stood out to me today. On the news, there was a lot of talk of Easter and the story behind it. The newscasters showcased the speech that the pope made about Easter and the speeches of various other bishops and priests. Today I saw that though American puts itself as a secular state, we are not as divided as we think. We believe in the division of church and state. The more of I think of this, the less I see of it. Today, Easter, which is a Christian holiday, was celebrated on TV. The pledge of allegiance that students are required to say almost every single morning references god. The American dollar bill and American coins have the phrase "In God we Trust." Religion is a huge part of the American culture. I didn't think that it was before. It seems as though Americans are becoming less religious and "modern" every single day. I'm not saying that that is a bad thing, but before these past couple of weeks, I didn't see America has a religious country. Now, I see that religion may not be the biggest part of this country, but it is a significant chunk of it.