For the new design of the website and also for the profiles of the children, Ramona took pictures of many people. She noticed and then I also realized that Indian people, when they see that someone takes a picture of them, become very serious. One minute they are joking and the next minute they look very seriously into the camera.
Western people on the contrary say ‘Cheese’ and smile or laugh and try to look as happy as possible. I really laughed about this and we are always joking about it now. Then I thought a little bit about why it is like this.
Usually people in the west are very serious and suddenly, when they see a camera, they have a big smile on their faces. And in India it is the other way around! It is about the way that people want to be seen and how they want to present themselves. In the west every presentation is done with a smile because it makes a better impression there. And in India people want to show that they are very serious. So in the west I think people need to learn not only to smile on photos but also in their lives. And people here have to learn to smile in photos, too!
We are now waiting for our friends who will arrive tomorrow at the Ashram. Thomas, Iris, Regina, Jens, Celina and Helga will all arrive on the same date and we are looking forward to welcome them.
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Love your clarity, humor and happiness!
Very funy 🙂
Haha! A great photo to demonstrate your point.
What a funny cultural detail! Really precise observation! And it is not only one small empty detail. It is a meaningful indicator if you want to get to know basic features of another culture.