“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” ~ Molish Eddin Saadi
One of the best parts about traveling is
learning the ins and outs of a new culture. At first, everything feels
foreign. The first few weeks I asked myself, “Why do they do things that
way?” or “Wouldn’t it be better if they did things differently?” It was
all part of the assimilation process. Now that I’ve adapted (mostly) to
the new culture and shed some of my American habits, I am able to
accept the differences that Indian culture offer. In fact, I think
America could learn a thing or two from India. Here are a few that come
to mind:
1. Low paper towel usage. I
have been impressed, and admittedly sometimes annoyed, that Indians
seem to use few paper products. Restrooms rarely have paper towels with
which to our dry hands, paper napkins are hardly ever present at
restaurants, and toilet paper is not used (they have a whole water
system that isn’t my favorite, but does the trick). The lack of paper
use may be a cost issue, but whatever the cause it has a great effect.
Think about how much paper we waste in the states! Paper cups, paper
plates, paper towels, paper napkins, paper, paper, paper. It’s not like
paper grows on trees… oh wait, it does, and that’s the problem. We need
to be more mindful of how we use our resources.
2. Energy efficient light switch designs. One of my favorite things about India is their sockets. Every socket has a corresponding switch so you can turn off whatever is plugged into it. This is great for so-called “vampire loads,” a fancy term for appliances that
use energy even when they’re turned off. Plugs are also designed to fit
multiple types of plugs so you don’t have to find the right adapter.
Just plug and play! Pretty geeky I know, but pretty cool. Again, we need
to be more mindful of how we use our resources and energy is one of the
big ones!
3. Easy to use door handles.
Not everyone I work with agrees with this, but I love their door handle
design. Instead of a door handle that twists, you simply press down on a
button with your thumb and the door opens. I’m not sure if door handles
in the states cause carpal tunnel or can exacerbate arthritis, but this
design would solve those problems!
4. Speedy (and cheap!) auto rickshaws. India
is flooded with small, light, fuel efficient vehicles (at least the
4-stroke engine ones) that are essentially directable public transportation.
They’re like cabs, but they’re cheaper, more fun, and easily
accessible. They’re more expensive than buses, but then you don’t have
to deal with a crowd of people. A friend of mind believes that, “a fleet
of autos that could charge half the price of taxis would make a killing
in NYC or other taxi-heavy cities” and I agree. Great business idea!
5. Pollution reducing driving habits.
Indian drivers are taught that if they sit at a light for longer than
three minutes that they should turn their engine off. I’m sure there’s
an argument that the practice slowly degrades the car’s battery or ruins
its engine, but it also helps to reduce air pollution. Which would you
rather have: a slowly degrading car or slowly degrading lungs? Pretty
easy decision I think (says the asthmatic).
6. Smaller family vehicles. You’d be surprised how many people can fit on a moped. It is
very common to see a family of three or four driving on a small moped:
Pop driving, one kid in front of him, mom riding behind with one more
kid stuffed between mom and pop. I once saw a family of five do this and
there are rumors of someone having seen a family of six! They’re a
little like great white sharks though, coveted but rare to see. This
practice calls into question the American “need” for SUVs or mini-mans.
And if anyone argues that American families need the space to get out of
the heat, try telling that to the moped family living in India where
the summers can get as hot as 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s easy to come to a new culture and see
all of things that you would change to make it more like home. It is far
more difficult to see things in a new culture that you would want to
adopt in your own. It requires an admission that my culture can be
improved and, in this case, the humbling proposition that the very
developed country I call home can learn something from a developing
country. But I subscribe to the idea that new and better ideas can
sometimes come from the unlikeliest of places and that just because
something is “the way it is” doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it.
After all, America was a developing country once and we turned out just
fine.
What technology, behavior, or philosophy have you seen that you think the Western world should adopt or could learn from? Post your responses below. Come on, don't be shy!
I haven't seen them, but my colleagues were telling me about something called "Air Coolers." It's like a cross between a fan and humidifier where water is drawn from a tank and blown out in a fine mist while the fan cools. Also reminds me of a more advanced set up something that I once saw in an episode of CSI where a guy cools down by blowing his fan over a block of ice (and eventually gets electrocuted because there is water all over the floor). Sounds like a great set up for areas that experience dry heat like the Southwest, and uses a lot less energy than air conditioners! The air coolers seem run about Rs 5-10K, whereas air conditioners are Rs 10-40K.
ReplyDelete"America was a developing country once and we turned out just fine"??? Oy vey! The events of last Friday point to anything but that. It's called "A People's History of the United States." Please read before continuing on with your education.
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