The Indian Head Bob

In the Middle East most workers are from the Indian subcontinent and there have been quite a few times where I’ve felt like I was on the streets of Delhi rather than Muscat.  Or that I’d be better off learning Hindi rather than Arabic.  And while I hate to make racial or ethnic generalizations, some of the Indian cultural mannerisms drive me far crazier than the Arab ones.  These are the two big ones I’ve come to cringe at thus far:

1. The Indian Head Bob

I was trying to explain to my pool guy that he couldn’t let the cat out.  He began bobbing his head in all directions (up and down, side to side, even a little diagonal action in there) that seemed to simultaneously indicate “yes/no/maybe/I have no idea what you just said”.  It did not inspire much confidence and I’m fairly certain that he’s going to leave the door wide open and let the cat out (assuming he ever actually comes to clean the pool). 

2. Yes, yes, yes, yes!

There are many cultures where it is unacceptable to tell someone no, and so you always say “yes” even if you know you can’t accomplish whatever you’ve agreed to.  But what I’ve learned in my short time here is that the more yeses you hear, the less likely something will actually happen.  An example:

Me: “So you’ll be by the house today at 4:30 to fix the leak?”

Indian Repairman: “Yes yes yes!”

Me: “So in one hour you will be at my house?”
Indian Repairman: “Yes yes yes yes!”

Me [mentally]: Oh crap, that’s four yeses.  There’s no way he’s coming…
Needless to say, no one ever showed up to fix my leaks (or anything else, for that matter).