Now vs. Then

Kind Sir,

 

It's worth talking about the differences I'm seeing between now and a decade ago.  While it's not as bad as comparing apples to oranges, it is sort of like comparing McIntoshes to Granny Smiths -- I'm not covering exactly the same ground in exactly the same way.

 

The big things I notice are:

 

Lack of open sewage.  Open sewers were a big deal, and a major health risk, when I was here before.  I haven't run across a single one.  {What's weird is I was exposed to so much open sewage when I was here before I actually grew to sort of like the smell.  Odd, I know.}

 

Building.  Building, building, building.  Nearly on the scale of East Germany after the wall came down.  I'm not sure what's causing this -- my myopic view of the world hints that it might be outsourcing funds, but really, it could be anything.  One thing's for sure, there's a lot of money coming from somewhere.

 

I don't get stared at nearly as much now.  I'm not sure why this is.  Is it because I'm older?  Not wearing sun glasses?  Fatter?  Are people just more used to seeing whitey?  I don't know.  In the In. culture it's not considered rude to stare, so they'll just lay into you.

 

Speaking of sun glasses, I'm seeing Ins. wearing them now.  And this never used to be the case.

 

Things are considerably more expensive, maybe by a factor of ten.  So there's been some serious inflation here.  The division between the truly poor and those who are not is growing.

 

General unrest.  It seems like people are a little more worked up now than they were before, but this may be a jaundiced perception I'm getting from watching much more television this time than last.

 

Everything else is pretty much the same.

 

For what it's worth,

b1