The Fancy Store
By Valerie Victorias

Valerie Victoria is a Professor of English as a Second Language (ESL) and a mother of two sons. They moved to India recently. A recount of her experiences in this land of diversity.

Don't miss the cross-cultural communication quiz below!

Being ready for another shopping adventure, having a full stomach and having a short rest, I was now full of confidence that I could enjoy a nice cool evening walk and complete my shopping at the fancy store. My son, on the other hand, had decided that he had had all of the shopping he cared for that day. I walked from our lodge (hotel) toward Kamanahali Main Road.

As I began to walk up the Road in my tennis shoes, blue jeans and t-shirt, I became acutely aware that people were staring at me. There were other people in blue jeans, but they were all much younger than me. Well, were they staring at me because I was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt, or because I was the only person with light skin? I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I needed to find the string for the new pants to my salwarkamis suit that the clerk had failed to give me when I purchased the suit I decided this might be easier than the fancy store because there are little tailor shops everywhere, and I could ask the tailor where the fancy store is.

I walked on a few blocks until I came to the area filled with small shops. I began to look at the signboards above the shops looking for the words “tailor” or “fancy store”. I must have looked quite funny as I craned my neck stumbling along on the uneven pavement past cows, stray dogs, cycles, honking vehicles, barely missing a pile of cow dung and a fast moving bus. To my dismay, many of the signboards were in Hindi, Kanada or Tamil. Some were in English, but none of those were what I was looking for. My confidence was beginning to wilt a little.

Finally, I spotted a tailor’s shop filled with women and the tailor was a women! What marvelous luck. I walked in, all of the chatter stopped and they stared at me. Well, at least I had their attention. However, before I could speak, they all began talking to the tailor again, so I patiently waited my turn while they all continued to glance my way with definite curiosity. I soon discovered that a queue (line) in India is not the same as in America. I left a small, polite space between me and the lady in front of me. As more ladies came into the shop, they cut in front of me as though they had been there first. Having been a first grade teacher for fifteen years, I knew that cutting in line was absolutely wrong and I wasn’t going to stand for any more of it.

The next lady that entered the shop headed for that small, polite space in front of me. I quickly closed the gap and glared at her. She looked at me nonplussed and got in line behind me so close that I could feel her breathing on my neck and she was actually touching my body! An invasion of American privacy! Oh well success!!!! She hadn’t cut in front of me, but I was probably being labeled “Ugly American” for glaring at her. Now, at least I was progressing closer to asking my question to the tailor. I finally got to the tailor, and asked her for the string or rope that goes in the pants of my salwar suit. I was horrified to hear her say, “Oh, you get that at the fancy store!” My brain shouted “Ask her where the fancy store is”. Nonetheless, my pride would not allow me to show any more ignorance in front of all those women. So, I politely thanked her for her answer, turned and walked out of the store wondering where in the world and what in the world is a “fancy store”!

I continued wandering down the street craning my neck, stumbling and being stared at. Confidence was sinking lower and lower. Then, I saw a bright shop filled with fabrics. All of the clerks were busy with the customers except for one man who appeared to be the checker and another man who looked like a security guard. I mustered up my courage and walked straight up to the two men. Out of earshot of all of the female customers, I quietly asked where I might find a fancy store on Kamanahali Main Road. The two men looked at each other, and then at me, and pointed two doors back in the direction I had just come from and said, “That there is a the fancy store and across the street is a fancy store and a few doors on down is a fancy store”. I was delighted. They just shook their heads as I walked exuberantly toward the fancy store. I didn’t care if they thought I was a crazy American woman. I had found not one, but three fancy stores, and I could complete my shopping goals!

Now that you have finished my three articles, try your hand at a little word match of American and Indian terms that our family has struggled with and come to use in our everyday conversation, and we haven’t even tackled Hindi, Kannada, Tamil or any of the other of approximately 1600 Indian languages and dialects.

How did you score?
1-8 From what country you are? I am thinking American only, no?

9-17 Beef has most definitely spoiled your ability to think properly.

18-26 Buy your ticket to India or America; you can survive well either place.

27-34 Holy cow, better check your ancestry!

Answers: 1gg 2x 3z 4dd 5s 6aa 7y 8l 9v 10o 11f 12r 13h 14w 15q 16hh 17ff 18d 19g 20bb 21c 22n 23j 24u 25ee 26a 27m 28i 29cc 30t 31p 32b 33e 34k

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