Noisy

I cannot help but wonder exactly how loud you would have to be in India to have someone actually complain about it.
I was wondering this last night at around 10:30 when someone somewhere in my neighborhood was having a party that was super loud, as in I couldn't see which house it was coming from but I could hear every word to every song; they had very eclectic music going; Indian music then Bryan Adams then Bruce Springsteen...Anyway, I was thinking that back home this would for sure result in a noise complaint and a visit from the police. Here super loud parties are normal. It isn't that the people are loud, it is the music. They seem to crank up the music at around 10 p.m. and go til midnight or 1 a.m. I don't really mind, I can sleep through pretty much anything, but I wonder about people with little kids. Maybe they are just used to it.
What a great country to be in college in...imagine those loud parties with no fear of the cops being called to quiet you down...and even if they were called you could pay them off (apparently the cops here are super corrupt, you can buy them off for most anything...at least that is what I'm told). Of course these aren't college students, these are "grown-up" parties, college kids here don't party like back home.
Generally this is just a loud country, loud music, loud talkers (often a discussion sounds like an argument because of how loudly people talk), loud horns, loud birds (seriously, there are some loud birdies) just loud. I don't think I will ever adjust to it. I don't mind noise much but sometimes quiet would be nice. However, it has its benefits, I used to always worry about playing my music too loud; now I play it however loud I would like with the windows open and it is fine...I'm sure that it is about 5 levels lower than my neighbors' music.
Moral if this story: if you are a light sleeper and are coming to India, bring some ear plugs.
Random comment du jour: there is a guy in our office who brings us water and tea and runs errands for us. He is out today sick today so I told someone "if you want water you'll just have to get it yourself". The look on his face was priceless, you would think he had never gotten a drink for himself his whole life; he looked so confused!