Coming, Coming

I guess I am one of those tourists, sometimes.  Though I may not like to see it in others, I am sometimes frustrated by the differences that stem from our need for control and the que sera (in Hinglish: What to do?) attitude that permeates the India that I’ve visited.  More often than not, I can appreciate their worry-free take on what I might consider time management, expressing the unforeseen influences on the world and the seemingly required situations and circumstances, as they apply to tourists and travelers.  And believe me, I understand that shit happens, as well as the next guy.  I have even been known to laugh at the randomness of what does get done and how, let alone the perhaps bewildering time frame.  I’d like to think, I’m pretty open. I’ve got time and am mostly in no hurry.  It’s just, for my 300 rupee room (less than $6 a night) I still want the hot water promised and the fan to have more than one speed.  I don’t want mice (ok, I’ve only seen one, but where there’s one..) and I don’t want to be awakened every morning at 5 a.m. by dogs barking or men having a conversation at full volume inches away from my window- every morning.  I see this post as a venting place to express the need to say, I miss the comforts of home, but I am grateful, still, to see things through the lens of travel.  I may not have learned to be as patient as my Indian friends and neighbors here, but they make me look at things from all sides and then I try to settle into who I am, my perspective and what makes me, myself.  So, I could use a little more tolerance before I can achieve enlightenment, but I am able to forgive myself and those with whom I may be dealing with a quickness the Buddha might be happy enough to witness.

When I heard for the 5^th time today “Coming, coming,” in response to whether the electrician was coming to fix the hot water heater and my one-speed fan, I knew I might be waiting until the next day.  I just can’t stop nagging the guys who work here or it may not happen at all.  Maybe I’ll have a change of heart after I get a hot shower. (Big sigh.)  What to do?

I must add here, it took two more days and two trips to the hardware shop to make my satisfaction a possibility.  On the day of the “Promise, promise,” the electrician arrived early and finished the work in 20 minutes, maximum.  The shower is hot and the fan is slower, providing grey noise for the early morning noise, without the chill.

Now, to deal with the mouse.  This might not be solved so easily.