Whenever I hear about India, life in India, travelling to India, it seems beyond awful.
I’ve talked to some Indians online, and it’s been hit-or-miss, which is to be expected. I’d also expect IRL Indian people to be mostly reasonable, like, you know, people everywhere? Somehow though, everything I hear online about India (the country) is that it’s dirty, misogynistic, and rude. I know that there’s a higher chance for people to share the extremes—meaning that terrible experiences in India get shared more than normal experiences do—but it’s still remarkable.
I actually wanted to visit India very much, I’ve even mentioned in my last (or second to last?) post that I’m planning to learn Hindi, but this stuff is messed up. I wonder if Goa is much different from the rest of the country. I wonder what India is really like.
I used to hear really negative things about Indian people online.
Then I lived near a student dorm with indian guys studying here in Europe. They all were respectful, friendly and polite, every single one of them. Not only to me, but also to my girlfriend. Also, they are staying for only a year, and then move on, so it wasn’t just one batch of students I knew.
That’s just my own experience, of course I won’t deny all the issues India has. But in general it’s ill advised to listen to somebody who tells you how bad certain people are.
The one Indian I have met IRL was also nice, though I can’t say I really spoke to him a word more than hellogoodbye.
I’m firm in my belief that people, in general, are reasonable. I don’t think country of origin dictates whether someone can be or is good. I tried to frame my post as my thoughts on the internet’s perception of the country, not the people, because that really is how I feel! I don’t think it’s fair to judge a “people,” it just doesn’t make sense to me. Whenever I hear generalized statements about a people or a race or nationality or ethnicity or whatever else, I usually just discard it, to be frank.