Some days you just gotta laugh at yourself

Cultural adjustment, learning the language, and making a new norm in India are still very much a reality for me even after 5 months. I had some groceries delivered today. The servant or helper man that delivers the groceries is called a coolie. This is the name for anyone that helps shop keepers, does deliveries, etc.  I have found having groceries delivered saves time and money. It takes about 30 minutes to walk down the market to the closest market, and then of course time to find what you need and then about an hour plus to walk back UP the mountain.  With groceries that is very hard work because of the steep climb. So usually it means hiring a taxi to come back up the mountain which is about 300-400 ruppees ($6-$8). If I have groceries delivered, it only costs me 100 ruppees, less than $2. So today, I called for an order and when the man came I tried to explain to him that he could have the change of the bill as his tip. This of course was hard because I don’t know how to say change, or balance or bill, or anything of the sort in Hindi. I explained the total which I could say, and then because I didn’t know how to say 47, I said “40 and 7 for you”. I could tell he was confused, so I kept trying to explain in what Hindi I did speak. Both he and I were laughing hilariously. I have never seen a coolie laugh. He made my day as we both laughed loud and hard at my Hindi blunders.  Eventually, he got the point and was blessed!  Some days just make you smile. Learning Hindi is a process and hard, but so needed.  Thankful for the Hindi I am learning.


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