Unit 4 Destination Reflection - India

Study Guide

Cultural “True or False” Exercise for traveling in India

This exercise is borrowed, with gratitude, from the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) “Live the Questions” curriculum.

Read each of these questions, and do your best to decide if they are true or false, marking each with “T” or “F”. At the end of the quiz you’ll find a key with answers and explanations.

You should eat with your right hand, even if you are left-handed.
You should always remove your shoes when visiting an Indian home.
Eye contact is important to show respect.
You should take care when interpreting the meanings of “yes” and “no.”
It is OK to include your underwear with laundry done by others.
You should use your left hand when exchanging money and greeting people.
As a guest in someone’s home, you should not leave food on your plate.
It is OK to shake hands with friends/colleagues of the opposite sex.
It is OK to hug friends/colleagues of the opposite sex.
It is considerate to turn off the power after leaving a room.
Indians typically use toilet paper.
Answering your cell phone during an office meeting is an accepted practice.
Women smoking in public is culturally taboo.
When drinking, you should always take care to share your glass or water bottle.
Male friends often hold hands in ways Westerners associate with romance.
You should never touch paper or books with your feet.
When agreeing or listening carefully, Indians can appear to be shaking their head
“no.”
Women should dress in Indian-style or conservative clothing.
If someone in the office invites you to his/her home, you should feel obliged to
accept the offer.
One should expect communal lunches at his/her NGO and bring food to share.
One should not hang undergarments to dry in open spaces.
Wearing wrinkled clothes is a sign of disrespect.
You should take care to avoid touching someone else with your feet.
Despite conservative conventions, women wear Western-style swimsuits.

Key and Explanations

You should eat with your right hand even if left-handed. (T)
Explanation: Indians use their left hand for washing themselves after using the
toilet; it is rude to use your left hand to eat with.
You should always remove your shoes when visiting an Indian home. (T)
Explanation: There is a high cultural emphasis on cleanliness within the home in
India. Indians typically remove their shoes upon entering a home so they do not
track in dust. This is also typical of many NGO offices.
Eye contact is important to show respect. (T & F)
Explanation: In India, eye contact does not connote the same respect as in the
United States. However, it is not disrespectful when speaking with someone close in age.
When speaking with someone older, however, making direct and sustained eye
contact may be seen as disrespectful or peculiar. Eye contact with someone of the
opposite sex is also considered unnecessarily forward.
You should take care when interpreting the meanings of “yes” and “no.” (T)
Explanation: Indians value “saving face,” or keeping someone from experiencing
embarrassment. Saying “no” to someone may thus result in “losing face.” One will
seldom hear “no” from an Indian, even if it is the real answer.
It is OK to include your underwear with laundry done by others. (F)
Explanation: Underwear is considered very personal and one washes his or her
own undergarments in India. To wash someone else’s underwear is also considered
demeaning.
You should use your left hand when exchanging money and greeting people. (F)
Explanation: It is disrespectful to use one’s left hand for handling money or
greeting people since the left hand is used for personal washing.
As a guest in someone’s home, you should not leave food on your plate. (T)
Explanation: Leaving food on your plate may indicate you did not enjoy the meal.
In a country where “saving face” is so important and food is a scarce commodity for
many, wasting food is doubly impolite. When eating in someone’s home, try to
take small portions if you are concerned about not being able to finish everything
on your plate. When eating at a restaurant, this is less of an issue.
It is OK to shake hands with friends/colleagues of the opposite sex. (T)
Explanation: Shaking hands with colleagues of the opposite sex is considered
normal.
It is OK to hug friends/colleagues of the opposite sex. (F)
Explanation: A hug suggests a far more intimate relationship. It is mostly
inappropriate to hug someone of the opposite sex, unless they are your spouse. In
major cities, such as Mumbai and New Delhi, it is less taboo.
It is considerate to turn off the power after leaving a room. (T)
Explanation: Power in India is often scarce and intermittent. Leaving the power
on when it is not in use is considered wasteful and inconsiderate.
Indians typically use toilet paper. (F)
Explanation: In lieu of toilet paper, Indians typically wash with water using their left hand.
Answering your cell phone during an office meeting is an accepted practice. (T)
Explanation: The norm in India is to answer your mobile phone at all times since
most service carriers do not offer voicemail. It can also be a source of worry for
many Indians when someone does not answer their mobile.
Women smoking in public is culturally taboo. (T)
Explanation: Women are meant to be “pure” in Indian society and smoking is seen
as “polluting” and “impure.”
When drinking, you should always take care to share your glass or water bottle. (F)
Explanation: Indians typically do not drink from the same glass out of concern
for spreading germs. If people do share, you will see them pour the water in their
mouth, rather than drink directly from the cup.
Male friends often hold hands in ways Westerners associate with romance. (T)
Explanation: Indian males show platonic affection toward each other by holding
hands and sometimes linking fingers. This practice is not associated with same-sex romantic love.
You should never touch paper or books with your feet. (T)
Explanation: Paper and books represent knowledge in India, which is considered
holy. To touch paper or books with one’s feet is considered disrespectful of that
value.
When agreeing or listening carefully, Indians can appear to be shaking their head
“no.” (T)
Explanation: In much the same way Americans nod when listening, Indians
typically show they are listening with a gentle head “bobble.”
Women should dress in Indian-style or conservative clothing. (T)
Explanation: To dress in revealing clothing is considered to undermine the
modesty of a woman.
If someone in the office invites you to his/her home, you should feel obliged to
accept the offer. (F)
Explanation: While it is wonderful to avail oneself of India’s hospitality, one
should not feel compelled to accept invitations from strangers or anyone else if
uncomfortable.
One should expect communal lunches at his/her NGO and bring food to share.
(T)
Explanation: Communal eating carries great importance in India since food is
considered to have divine significance. Sharing food and eating together is an
expression of seeing the godliness in one another.
One should not hang undergarments to dry in open spaces. (T)
Explanation: Underwear is considered very personal. To publicly hang one’s
underwear to dry is considered offensive. When you wash your undergarments,
put them underneath your T-shirts or pants so they can dry unseen.
Wearing wrinkled clothes is a sign of disrespect. (T)
Explanation: In the same way being unkempt in the United States shows one’s attitude
toward his/her surroundings, wearing wrinkled clothing in India demonstrates a
lack of care and is thus disrespectful.
You should take care to avoid touching someone else with your feet. (T)
Explanation: Feet are considered impure because they touch the earth. To touch
another with one’s foot can be seen as “polluting.”
Despite conservative conventions, women wear Western-style swimsuits. (F)
Explanation: Wearing Western swimsuits defies the conventional modesty Indian
society places on its women. Women tend to swim fully clothed, generally
wearing a salwar kameez, especially in conservative areas.

Unit 4: Learning Circle