See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya

(Written April 11)
The chances are minimal that I'm ever coming back to India. In the last month (though it might be difficult to tell from my previous entries), I have spent a significant portion of every day wavering between being frustrated by my dealings with rude Indians and outright pissed off. I try to treat others with the same level of respect that I'd appreciate, and in doing so here I've been lied to, cheated, misdirected, coerced, conned, and generally disrespected on the whole. There are many wonderful things to see (Taj Mahal though...well, it looks just like the postcards), but none that I saw (with the possible exception of Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur) was worth the effort it took to experience it.
Though I am frustrated with how things have gone this last month, I am even more disappointed that I wasn't able to find a way to bridge the gap between myself and the locals. Many travellers that I spoke to love it here. How is it that I was able to get along just fine in Thailand, Laos, and even Cambodia with locals who spoke my language as poorly as I spoke theirs, yet here in India I had to restrain myself from karate chopping nearly everyone I talked to? In one month, I met exactly three people who I feel are decent human beings, and one of them is a Nepalese monk!
It saddens me greatly that I had such wonderful expectations for my time in India, but in the end what I will remember most is how much I looked forward to going back to my guesthouse every day and avoiding talking to any Indians. Clearly the fault lies with me: I just didn't figure out how to garner their respect.
I take some consolation from a conversation I had this evening with a young englishman who has voluntarily elected to spend much of his life here in India. He struck me as the sort that doesn't try to earn anyone's friendship, but rather says what he thinks, and means what he says. His views often come out sounding rather harsh. After talking with him awhile, he had a diagnosis for my problem: "You're too nice". He says that the only way to deal with Indians is to be as rude, self-centered, and relentless as they are. "Then", he said, "you'll get on just fine".
I think maybe that I'd prefer to be frustrated.
Tomorrow I fly to Frankfurt, Germany to visit Matthias and Melli (M & M). I'm so excited! It's been about one year since I last saw him, and four (has it been that long?) since seeing her. This time, I know I'm in for pleasant adventures!