Anytime's a Great Time to Pick Your Nose in India!

I think I read somewhere before coming here that Indians are often a bit less bashful than Westerners when it comes to bodily functions.

This is a massive understatement.

For whatever reason, the people here - men, women, and children alike - feel absolutely no shame belching, scratching, horking, and nose-picking in front of the rest of the world.

Case in point: While sitting in on some patient examinations at ACCEPT last week, the doctor (please note: the DOCTOR) stopped mid-sentence, horked loudly, got up, walked to the sink, spat out an enormous amount of what I can only assume was phlegm, cleared her throat, walked back to her seat, and continued the conversation with the patient.

Immediately after this, the nurse in the next room - a very cute, petite, young gal - let out one of the loudest and longest belches I have ever heard in my entire life.

This is in a HOSPITAL, so you can only imagine what it's like outside. On my way down from Pune on the train, I observed this guy digging so deep for something in his nose I thought he might injure himself. He - of course - maintained eye contact with me during the entire 5-minute ordeal.

For clarification's sake, this post is not written out of criticism but admiration, more than anything. Why our culture has made such a big deal out of publicly dealing with basic bodily functions is beyond me. We could simplify things so much by just getting things done whenever and wherever.

On a completely random note, the other day I met a guy whose name was Sayedmahaboob. The end.

Currently fighting sleep to go pick up Nat from the airport at 11pm. We have one day left in Bangalore, then spend Tuesday on the Chennai Express for our last 3 days in Madras...