Nate Raine

Bricks and other Things

To say I could imagine half the things over here would be a lie. I couldn’t imagine going or being anywhere that wasn’t the US… but everything here is well, different. We have garbage days. That may not sound like much or very special, but that weekly truck that comes out to take away the slightly smelling garbage is very sorely missed here. Take the garbage from the pantry, throw it on the lawn for a week (continually adding trash) then have all the neighborhood animals come relieve themselves. Then imagine the smell permeating everything. Nothing in the US can prepare you for that.

If you can ignore the smell, India is incredibly beautiful, the Himalayas are better than any picture book, the driving is not only safer and more relaxing (even though they really don’t have any rules), and everything here is, well, dirt cheap.

We are in cars for extended periods of time, and coming back from Mr. Dhami’s (which by the way is one of the coolest places on the face of the earth) so as such lots of topics come up, many of which are really funny.

And I quote Tommy, “Is America really the land of the free? I mean everything is just so relaxed here, they park bikes on roofs, and can we do that in America? I don’t think so. They can leave a pile of bricks wherever they want! Sometimes I just want to have a random pile of bricks! Can we have that in America? I don’t think so! Can I fit four people on a scooter? No! I want a waterfall of trash, but will they let me? No, and sometimes I just want to lay on the horn the entire time I’m driving, but really that would be like flipping everybody off. They say America is free, but America isn’t really free until I can have a Pile of Bricks wherever I want!” (a pretty good representation of what we are going through)

(It may not be funny to you, but at the time it was funnier than Hot Rod)

Despite the smell, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else in this world.

Miss you all, we’ll be home before you know it