A few words on being lost, a state that we are often in. First off, it's very rare for streets to have names, or, if they have names, signs. There's usually a main road, and then once off that you're plunged into a maze of alleys and looping lanes and roundabouts with many spokes. Monuments and points of reference are rare. The average Indian lane is a cluster of similar shacks and shos selling similar wares: cellphone cards, Fantas and snacks, perhaps some firewood, trinkets, kitchen faucets, etc, which makes it difficult to tell one road from another. Also: we have found few Indians who will tell us that they do NOT understand. So when we ask for directions, they always "help" even if it means waving us towards someplace that we do not want to go. At one point we asked for a hotel, and the man pointed towards the "beach, beach" assuming that was where we were going. "Left, left," people tell us pointing right. And every time we try to get specifics, we are greeted with the ubiquitous Indian head bobble. Yes yes.
There's one hand gesture in particular that drives us mad. Imagine you were wearing an oversized watch and, with your arm extended, tried to make the watch spin round and round on your wrist. That's an approximation of the wave we often get. We'll say, "THIS way?" pointing down a specific street, but we only get the same looping gesture as before. It has meant, so far, a million things. I believe it must translate best into "go on and find your way as best you can." Or perhaps, "It is quite easy if you have lived in this town as long as I."
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