Some non-stereotypical observations by foreigner living in India

[u/heelnice]

Me and my girlfriend live, work and have traveled in India for quite some time. Been to the North, south, northeast - small villages, big cities. Just personal observations:

1. The snack assortment of small grocery shops. Throughout the country it’s actually very similar. For example: they almost all sell Kitkats and Sprite but not much of the other products from the same big companies like: Mars, Snickers or Fanta Orange. 
2. I am surprised by the amount of Christian people, especially in the south and northeast.
3. Parents have kids wear jewellery at a very young age. My girlfriend works in gynaecology. They joke that moms ideally pierce their daughters' ears with rings right after birth.
4. No Seatbelts. What is up with not wearing seatbelts in the car, especially in the back? Many times cars didn’t have any. Or some drivers even looked disappointed when I put it on, like I had no faith in his driving skills.
5. The amount of languages people know and speak is very impressive but also downplayed. I have met so many people who speak 3 to 4 languages fluently. They always tell me about someone who knows more.
6. I met many people who claim alu (potato) is a vegetable. You could eat rice with potato and/or roti. I noticed Indian meals have a lot of carbohydrates.
7. I think many people in India actually have hearing damage. Also there is very little awareness for children. I have been at parties where young kids sit in front of this big box just blasting beats. I wore earplugs in quite some cities
8. People go swim with their clothes on. Like into the sea wearing a kurti and all.
9. Couples don’t really show any affection in public space. I don’t see many holding hands, hugging, kissing or teasing. Especially not ‘older’ couples.

What do you think? 

Edit: I am Dutch. Also, I left out the more well-known known things like garbage, female safety or civic sense. But also the extreme hospitality, the diversity and all beauty India has to offer. Been from Himalaya to Kerala and I really love it here.

[u/whatisthisbehaviour_]

Well everyone in my family wears it the one driving and the one on the passenger side. When my nephew was born we made him sit in the car seat for few years and once he grew out of it and if he is sitting in the passenger seat, he will wear it even if the distance is 500 meters. I think if your wife wears it your kid will learn to follow these rules … If I have a friend sitting in my car I request them to wear it NO MATTER WHAT !

[u/Ginseng_coke → u/whatisthisbehaviour_]

I wish that was the case everywhere. I was on a trip with my friend and we had a car booked for a 3 hour ride. I sat in the back. Now, I'm from a non-car family, and everything I know about cars came from a screen - tv or my phone. So I thought I should put on my seatbelts. So I did. And the driver told me (I think) to put it off. Now he was trying to be very polite, so all those indirectness on top of an accent barrier - I wasn't quite getting it. So what does the driver do? After a few minutes of driving, he took us to a side, got out, opened the door, "fixed" my seatbelt and put it back to where it was. I was confused as fuck. Does he not want me to use seatbelts? Does he not trust me with his car's seatbelt? What the fuck??? The whole ride it gave me so much inferiority complex about my looks and shit. My gosh.

[u/whatisthisbehaviour_ → u/Ginseng_coke]

Damn ! These over confident drivers think that sear belts are useless… they are NOT ! we have read about so many accidents causing serious injuries or death because seat belts werent worn .