India changed my life, what about yours?

This intercultural blog is aimed to be a point of convergence between new and old India travelers, it will allow the new comers to have real experiences available in order to enrich their expectations and make their own contributions. Not only foreign travelers will write and post their pictures, but also will involve the local´s point of view. We have invited a bunch of Indians to collaborate and omment on the travelers’ anecdotes.based on history and cultural background.

The story how I sold my pair of snickers shoes in India


It was August 2004, and it was the first and so far only time I´ve been to India. I was with a group of seven friends travelling around Rajastan. The day we got to Udaipur, I decided not to go with them to walk around the city because I was having leg cramps (not normal in me, but normal after two weeks in India having no more than yogurt for lunch!) So I decided instead to go for a small walk and have a quality time with myself and the street life close to our hotel. I took off my sandals after more than 5 days, and put on my snickers (tennis shoes), to avoid that the leg cramps would come back again.

While I was taking snaps at the sunset in the lake, a young boy approached to invite me to shop in his family store. That was totally normal, that people in the street would invite you to shop around in their stores. I said I´d go later, and I really meant it because I needed yet to get something nice for my mom. I thought those last couple of hours in Udaipur would help me to do so. So after a while, I went where the shops were, and found the boy in his little store, therefore I walked in. It was nice because the boy offered me a cup of tea with milk, as it is usual, at least from what I experienced in this trip.

I started to ask questions about his family and religion. He asked me questions too: “Where are you from?” I said I was from America, knowing that he would think I meant the US. He said: “No, madam, you can´t be from America. You must be Spanish, or French, but not American”. I gladly took the time to explain about the three Americas and all.

After 10 or 15 minutes of talking, I started to look around the shop. I remember some silk ties, some shiny purses and shoes. There were Cachemira shawls too. Suddenly the friendly boy said: “Can I try one of your shoes?” “WOW!” I thought. In just one second I realized that if I let him try on one of my blue snickers, I should definitely be prepared for the question: “Can I try both on?” With a smile in my face I let him try both shoes and from the excited look of his face while looking to his own feet with the blue snickers on, I had absolutely no doubt that the boy didn´t want only a pair of shoes: he wanted MY pair! The shoes fit perfectly on him. He wouldn´t stop looking at the snickers. I thought: “He wants my shoes, he wants my shoes!”, laughing to myself. Then, the boy said: “Madam, sell me your shoes”. Of course he waved his head in the Indian style! I vividly remember he repeated the sentence: “Sell me your shoes”. Suddenly my surprise was not the fact that he wanted my shoes, but the fact that I was going to sell a pair of shoes!!! Selling my shoes!!! The ones I was wearing! Never in my life I had sold anything, I´ve always been a horrible seller! And there I was…. Trading my shoes for anything I wanted from the store, as the boy offered. “Pick anything you want madam, something nice for you”. In internal astonishment, I picked a nice black Cachemira shawl for my mom. My job was done, I had the present for my mom, the boy was as happy as one can be with new shoes, and I came back bearfoot to the hotel. It was India, nobody in the streets noticed I was wearing no shoes.

Andrea Ocares

10:18 PM | |

 

3 comentarios:

Anonymous said...

Dear Andrea,
What a heart warming story. This definitely wouldn't've happened to an Indian.

I guess out-of-the-way incidents like this happen more often with tourists than with the locals. Maybe people feel less inhibited around a tourist from another culture. This gives you both the opportunity to say or do things that have no place in the business like fast pace of conventional society.

I remember when a bus driver in Germany went off route to drop me at my destination because i'd missed my connection (and of course it was a slow afternoon and no one else was on the bus). Germans were astonished that this was even possible.

This is not a typical Indian thing to happen at all either. Your story, incredible as it is, sounds true though :)).

Somaskandan

June 27, 2009 at 2:38 AM  
Unknown said...

This is AMAZING ... LOL LOL ... how is it that we haven't heard this one before???? lol ....

Somas is correct. Some things can only happen when you are off in a far away, foreign land. You have no clear definition of what is allowed, what is considered taboo etc... which makes it a lot easier I guess.

Question for Andrea - would you have sold your pair of shoes in Temuco? :)

June 30, 2009 at 1:20 PM  
Anonymous said...

It´s true what you say Somas, you´ve explained it very well. I´ve actually never heard such request in Chile "please send me the shoes you´re wearing" :) Between locals is not the same.

But answering Gagan´s question... Of course i´d sell my shoes in Temuco if the trade is convenient hahaha. But yeah, it´s truly the same point as Somas: if a local asks you that for serious, your judgment on that request is totally different! You find it ilogical and insane, and would probably recomend that person to look for professional help!

Andrea

July 10, 2009 at 1:07 AM  

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