Some differences I could notice between Indian and French cultures!

I would say people are friendly India. They come to me freely to ask questions about me, in the street, in the bus and in shops. In France people are more closed, it is less easy to start a conversation with a stranger. Except from small town, in France you would not greet people that you do not know while you walk in the street. If you do so, they might stare at you and think you are a freak or simply ignore you!

What is also striking to me is the curiosity of Indian people. In France we teach small children that they should not be curious, that it is a default! I do not think this is a common view in India! For example, there is information that we would never ask for in France, even if we would like to know: how much do you earn as a salary? How much did you pay for this? We would only ask our best friends about money matters. Curiosity is also about personal situation. In France, it would sounds really awkward to ask a stranger if she is married.

The notion of “personal belongings” seems different. For instance, here in India it is normal for the boy in my host family to use my things, would look at them, sometimes without asking me. In France it would not happen. He would always ask. Also the notion of private space, in India it is not common to stay alone in a room or to retreat into silence or to have time for yourself. Often, when I try to do that, then the boy of the host family would come and ask me, “What are you doing”?

I am more used to being solitary sometimes in France as I live on my own and sometimes I like to have these private moments. Even when I lived with my parents, it was very common that each of us would do some different activity (for example while my mother is reading, my dad would be working and I will be studying) and that we would not talk to each other for hours. In India it is different, I think you share more in the daily life and people seem do not need any private space. I noticed that people in India are much more relaxed than in France. They take things as they come and they do not worry or stress as much as in France.

Some cultural experiences: There is my friend Mamatha. She lives in the village where I teach. She owns a small shop and makes tea for people in the area. I go to see her every day and we have talks about our lives, about our cultural differences, about life in general. Although we often notice that there are big differences, it also seems that some important matters are universal.

We talked about the family for example. In France husband and wife would more often share the housework. In some families, the wife works and the husband stays at home taking care of the children and the house. Life of women is not that easy in India. If they work still have a big amount of housework to do. Therefore, it is hard for them who do not have much leisure or time for rest. One subject that is also very different is the choice of the husband. In France a huge majority of women will chose their husband themselves. There a very few arranged marriages. Also a lot of people (almost the half) never get married.

Mamatha is Christian. We are not from the same Christian Church but I went to Roman Catholic Church with her and family for Christmas and another day for some function. We had two hours mass and then at the night-time we walked through Kushalnagar holding candles. At the same time we could hear the call for the prayer coming from the Mosque and other Indian people Hindus were going in and out of the temples. I thought that this was a nice example of religious diversity. All of them leave next to each other. Another very nice cultural experience I had was to go to a Coorgi marriage with the Host Family of some other volunteers. I could watch the rituals and traditions of this strong Kodava culture. I could also enjoy the delicious food. In this family the host mother is also our Kannada teacher. Not only the classes also allow us to better communicate with students helps us learn about Indian culture. I learned a prayer in Kannada and I can think about it when I go to a temple!

Adele Valentin

FSL India Volunteers from France