Heather Goes the Wrong Way – Informational

One thing that is hard to get used to is looking both ways when crossing the streets. I am used to looking mainly to my left and glancing to my right. It has not been easy to re-program my brain to scrutinize the traffic on the right and then look to the left for any aberrant commuters. (Sometimes the drivers don’t like to go all the way around the direction dividers, which can last for blocks, so they are content with going the wrong way down a street close to the “sidewalk”). I certainly am used to the American way of passing on the right, so that’s where I check for traffic. I’m adjusting. Thankfully I have not had many very-close calls.
Swimming Pool: Robin and I have been to the Siri Fort Sports Complex twice; once we played mini-golf (not the US version which is called “crazy golf,” this version is just a smaller golf course) and swam in the outdoor pool, and the other time we just came for a swim. The first time we were the only ones in the giant pool, but the second time it was filled with people. Lots of Indians don’t know how to swim, even the ones in the upper echelons. Inevitably, the “non-swimmer” section was packed nearly shoulder to shoulder. I am very grateful that I know how to swim (thank you mom and dad). Robin and I decided we’d swim laps in the “swimmer zone.” As you could imagine, Indian traffic etiquette carried over into the pool. People swim as chaotically as they drive. There were no lane dividers and people were swimming lengths and widths, leaving kick-trails like plaid all over the pool. Even trying to navigate around the other swimmers was difficult as there seemed to be no consistency in the speed or direction of their trajectory. To make matters worse, when I tried to pass competent swimmers I was approaching head-on, we’d both shift right, another British-Indian/US traffic discrepancy.
Escalator: We went to the movies last weekend. For about $2 we got “premium” seats in the modern air-conditioned theatre in a suburban mall/theatre complex. This entitled us to centre seats that reclined 45 more degrees with a four foot space between us and the row in front of us. I was a little drowsy after the new-release movie, “Superman Returns,” and I found myself getting on the wrong side of the escalator each time, expecting them to be the same directions as the US. I ran into a few families, whoops. I guess I’m learning my lesson about the inaccuracy of my decidedly American auto-pilot.
Office: Everyday in the office I do a little dance with the custodians, senior management and anyone else who is up from their desks. Despite the chaos in the streets, Indians pass each other in hallways quite consistently, but to my dismay, on the right. I’m getting used to it, but not without a few awkward shuffle-steps here and there.