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Welcome to Facebook. Where love stories are perfect, where shit talkers tell the truth, where everyone brags they have the perfect life and claim to be in love with their partners, where your enemies are the ones that visit your profile the most, where your ex-friends block you and where you post something and people interpret whatever the hell they want...

I thank you. Bow

Everything is Arranged

Just another day before going to work here in India. Done with breakfast and back at my hotel room trying to kill some time before going to the office. I have my daily supply of local newspaper -- good thing it is written in English. Browsing through the pages, I stumbled upon classified ads section not really looking for anything. Then this page caught my attention.

Looking for a groom, WTH! I thought this country has the second largest population next to China. Where are the men? asking myself. What happened to them? Homosexuality is beyond control? What's wrong? I was really stunned... I checked with Google and found out that this is normal here. It's tradition. I can't comprehend the atrocities and complexity of this unique tradition. Would there be intimacy and genuine love and affection? Is it like forcing the issue because you are compelled to do so? Well maybe I'm just "westernized" so to speak. Courtship, flowers, chocolates, romantic dinner, love letters and poems are the norms where I came from. You have to woo the girl (and even her family) to win her heart. Then you can talk about engagement and everything, followed shortly by marriage and... (you know). It's a looooong process but that's tradition.  I'm not trying to be a smart ass or perhaps a love guru. I'm just a guy expressing my thoughts (my humble opinion). It's like me looking from the outside in. I don't know much about India's tradition but I have nothing against it. I'm not traditional either. I believe love conquers all! I quote, all's fair in love and war. If arranged marriage works for you then why not, coconut. If you are an Indian guy I guess you better look for a high-paying job (~10 Lakhs per year at least) as it is the usual requirement. Oh by the way, when you say Lakhs, it means 100,000 here.

FYR:

Arranged marriage in India

Wrong Timing

I flew to India for a business trip. I don't know what to expect aside from what I've read in the airline magazine during my flight. I arrived past midnight and feeling dead tired already. My hotel cab was there already to pick me up. Rode the cab and traveled for almost an hour before reaching my hotel -- it was a long journey indeed. Once I got my room keys I went straight to my room and jumped to my bed. I fell asleep right away. I woke up at around 10 AM. Looking at my wrist watch I said, "my god I'm late". I got up fast, took a shower, dressed up and hurried downstairs.  The receptionist greeted me good morning and I smiled back. As I was about to approach her, I saw a big clock behind her showing 7:45AM. I asked her, "miss, is that clock working?". She smiled back and answered yes sir, that's the correct time here. I laughed and said, I thought I was late for my appointment. Maybe my watch is not working. She then said that I must set my watch to India's local time (which is GMT+5.5). I felt a little embarrassed. Still smiling, she offered me if I want some breakfast then pointed me to the hotel's breakfast buffet lounge. I am really hungry actually, said to her, then gestured O.K. I went to the lounge and got a really nice table overlooking poolside with hillside backdrop. I sat down, calmed myself and just enjoyed the view for a moment. I got myself some coffee, a couple pancakes topped with syrup and whipped cream -- just a perfect way to start my day.

Lesson learned: Always check your destination's Time Zone before going there.

20 things foreigners need to know about India

Taj Mahal

1. Be polite and don't be shy to smile
2. They don't have much pedestrian lanes so be agile when crossing streets
3. Everyone (well, mostly) knows how to speak English
4. They like eating with bear hands
5. People stares at you - don't worry that's normal because you are obviously not a local
6. Most of them are vegetarian
7. Spicy food is a common thing. Be sure to ask before you eat your curry!
8. Auto rickshaw is the common mode of transportation here.
9. Murder of crows are everywhere... as in everywhere
10. Cows here are regarded as holy
11. Men here likes wearing long-sleeves, khaki pants and sandals.
12. Don't imitate their accent when talking
13. India is a cricket crazy nation
14. Honking is annoyingly normal
15. Bring your own bottled (mineral or distilled) water --> watch "Slumdog Millionaire" and you'll know why
16. Respect their culture, religion and belief
17. Weather here is hot (in most parts)
18. Men seen holding hands are not "gay"

19. Head wobble means Yes -- This is a side-to-side combination of a nod and a head shake

20. They have a unique smell -- so train your nose and shut your mouth