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Un Learn then Re Learn

Arriving on American shores almost a quarter century ago from an erstwhile British colony filled with close to a billion people made for some dramatic adjustments.

In terms of following the literal and philosophical rules of the road.  Below are some (adjustments that is) that we made as we tried to merge into the flow of traffic that is America.


  1. Speed - No we did not take to crack.  But just the notion of speed was something we had to get used to.  When one can barely move on Indian roads with any form of conveyance here the country had to actually tell people what the top limit to their transport should be.  Millions were actually invested in presenting the American public with signs that marked the top limit of their vehicular transport in the form of Speed Limit boards.  65 or 70 or 75.  Wow.   To see the speedometer actually attain those elevated numbers on the dial was in itself a joy to behold. Not to mention that the chosen vehicle was actually able to do so effortlessly was also a feat we experimented with much to the chagrin of others on the road.
  2. Distance - Here the math was reversed.  Indians know kilometers because like most of the world (outside the USA) we observe the Metric system.  My routine trip from college back home was 200 km.  In miles which is the American customary unit of distance it was only 120.  So it took getting used to.  All those speed limit signs now suddenly meant we could actually go much much faster.  Whoppeee!
  3. Mailboxes - Yes when people wrote letters and received this strange parchment back in return from a guy in uniform. With ink on it, written by hand.  India has the British designed red mailboxes scattered on the sub-continent while in America they are blue.  The color chosen by the USPS.  Took a while to get that right.  Now one would be hard pressed to remember where the nearest mailbox is.
  4. Coin operated phones - What are those?  The Indian version was a black box which 8 times of 10 did not work.  The American versions were chrome and needed a Washington to get going.  The American public phones used quarters to operate and it was important to have a few jangling in your pockets.
  5. Laundry - from a machine? You needed to have access to a washer and dryer in the US because finding a maid would be like going back to the plantation days.  In some ways we do things different in India.  A load of wash meant four quarters and eight if you wanted to get it dried.
  6. Roadside stall - only if you are on the freeway.  And that did not serve milk tea.  Until 15 years ago when Starbucks started making an appearance alongside the cow and bread sandwich serving establishments.
Speaking of which there were clearly more cows (edible chunk) between bread in these USofA than one might find (entire animal) on the road between Mumbai and Pune.

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