Yesterday I told you what the person in the train said to me: Don’t ever trust somebody who helps you. What does that mean? If you do not trust those who help you, then whom do you trust? And then why do you take their help?
You know, we are travelling a lot and we always travel with our clothes, kitchen things, technical equipment and everything that you need for living, because we do not just go for a week or two, sometimes we are travelling for four months without coming to a place where we have different clothes or things. So we do have some luggage. Some of my friends will be smiling now because they know how much luggage we have. We are always happy when we find an elevator and trolleys at train stations. And if we don’t find, we sometimes need to go the stairs twice because we cannot carry everything at once.
In these situations we were often surprised and amused to see other people’s reaction. Many times we see they are watching us how we come with our luggage and have to carry it down. They look, smile, sometimes also laugh but do not get the idea of helping. And you know why? Because here people have this idea of independence. You need to be able to cope with everything on your own in the west.
And ‘don’t trust anybody who helps you’. If somebody helps you, you are suspicious. So why would you offer help if people then think that you are a thief? But I also know that there are many people here who do like to help and who have a very good heart. I just think we need to teach our children that it is normal to help without expecting anything, just because of love and friendliness.
Related posts
A few more Tips for Indians preparing to live in the West – 9 Jul 15
When Indians learn how to do shopping in the West – 8 Jul 15
Less Formalities make Life easier! – 28 Jan 15
How to fight Feelings of Loneliness – 12 Nov 14
The difficult Situation of elderly People in the West – 25 Sep 14
Joint Families are great – but not every old Person is made for this Lifestyle! – 24 Sep 14
The Culture of asking ‘How are you?’ without really wanting to know – 18 Jul 13
‘Wrong Number, Honey!’ – When American and German Cultures clash – 17 Jul 13
Has your bad Mood become your Habit? – 17 Sep 12
You do need to be able to cope with everything on your own, because we don’t really have a family system and often even people in your family won’t help you.It is a sad state!
I must say that although I understand why you think this about the west, I don’t believe it is true. Maybe it is because I am a young(ish) female, but I am often offered help by kind strangers. Sometimes even without asking. I think that is the thing about the west. Nobody wants to make another person feel judged that they can not be independent and so they hesitate when offering help.