My life in the US is fairly rigid. I have a routine which I follow fairly strictly: wake up at a certain time, do certain things in a certain order, get to work at a particular time, eat mostly salads for lunch, supervise very strictly what my kids eat (as much as I can anyway. They let them eat all sorts of junk at daycare and I don't do anything about that). You get the picture. I exert my discipline as much as possible on all steps in my life. I consciously step away from the dessert aisle (and it's very difficult for anyone with a sweet tooth); while cooking, I use organic stuff, I shun processed foods, and although the kids get their fried stuff in the form of puris twice or thrice a week, neither my husband or I touch the stuff. We don't make extravagant purchases; indeed, after shelling out for day care, healthcare, the house, utilities and the like, we don't have much money to splurge either. We spend money on clothes every 6 months or so but are fairly strict in economizing the rest of the year. But in turn, we are fairly healthy, in good shape, have the resources to go camping and sight-seeing on the weekends and we have money saved up for emergencies. It's a fairly frugal, conservative lifestyle... very disciplined.
My life in India is diametrically different. First of all, my parents' house is bang in the middle of a commercial section. One step out of the house and we are met with endless clothes shops and eating joints. It's become a routine for my kids to eat ice-cream or cakes or both nearly every day; I get a long, 4-course meal every 6 or so hours, with multiple fried papads or vadams; if I crave any ghee-stuffed monstrosity, it's just a hop away from wherever I am; and worst of all, there's a festival going on nearly every week for which my mom and grand mom and aunts make a hundred different sweets and fried things. Needless to say, my form has gone from being fairly slim to quite plump. None of my clothes from the US fit me anymore, so of course, I go shopping. And of course, I can't stop- the variety, the designs, the colors, the range of prices- there's nothing to beat India when it comes to clothes. I keep excusing my reckless abandon of all my precious mental discipline with the line that I'll be going back to the US soon. But it's been 3 months! And I still don't have my visa in hand! And I have no idea when I'll get it. So unless I start my exercising and portion-control right now, I'm going to resemble nothing less than the rosagollas and gulab jamuns that I keep popping into my mouth.
Life in India is also a lot friendlier. I talk endlessly here- and not just to the same people. The kids and I have made friends with the neighborhood shopkeepers, some other kids at the park we go to every day, some random ladies who come to visit the astrologer next door, and most of all, with the various cousins. Of course we have friends in the US and we do talk to people, but there, the chances of striking a conversation with some person you have just met are very slim.
Life in the US is going to be terribly flat when we get back.
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