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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!Shasta!sankar
From: sankar@Shasta.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Motels in Arizona and New Mexico
Message-ID: <4380@Shasta.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 5-Apr-85 15:50:19 EST
Article-I.D.: Shasta.4380
Posted: Fri Apr  5 15:50:19 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Apr-85 03:58:57 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 39

(I am an Indian)

I have always been under the impression that IF at all, it is we, the
Indians who have hang-ups doing "dirty" clean-up jobs.  I have seen so
many situations of this sort, especially in more traditional set-ups.
Examples are gardeners who will not throw garbage away unless the garbage
consists of only garden garbage, managers who would not like to be seen
cleaning their car etc.

While Americans have no hassles at all regarding the type of work they do.
I know of a doctor's wife who baby-sits and cleans houses, nobody considers
it wrong for someone to work as a waiter or waitress to make some extra
money, while they are working on their PhD in Computer Science.

And now this guy from Switzerland comes along and gives us a completely
turned around version, he says Indians will do any dirty work, while
Americans have problems with doing such work.  I tell you, this is totally
absurd, actually if you see an Indian owning a motel and also doing some
sort of menial cleaning up, then he has learnt something good from the
Americans, I think the Swiss too should.

Incidentally, when one is in places like Arizona or New Mexico, the term
"Indian" does not refer to people from India, it refers to the original
inhabitants of those parts of the world, namely the Red Indians.  This is
first hand info, I have been both to Arizona and New Mexico, and if you see
a sign that says Indian store, or Indian jewellry, or Indian restaurant, etc.
it means Red Indian.  In these two states and possibly other neighbouring
areas people from India are referred to as "East Indians".  If you want our
type of food then you must go to an EAST Indian restaurant.

It is possible that the guy who saw so many Indian stuff in these two states
really saw a lot of Red Indian establishments and mistook them for East
Indian stuff.

Last week I went to Santa Fe, which is the capital of New Mexico and saw all
these Red Indians hawking their wares on the pavements, reminds one of the
good old days back in India!!

Sriram.