12.15 spec-less india

i've been trying to go without my glasses to prepare myself for the school for perfect eyesight in pondicherry but it's been extremely hard. i want to take in everything i can and with a prescription of -6.25, you need to wear your glasses.

i've been here just over a week and am quickly realising that it's not just my western dress that sets me apart from my fellow indian. it's the spectacles.

so i stand out like a sore thumb... unlike north america, india doesn't need glasses. there are very few people that i come into contact with who wear them, perhaps giving weight to a study i read about involving different cultures and their comparative loss of vision.

the theory is that cultures where children and adults spend a large amount of time outdoors and maintaing a very physical lifestyle have good eyes. cultures where kids and adults are chained to desks either in front of textbooks or computers, begin to rely heavily on corrective eyewear.

it's a shame that india and many other countries are trying so hard to become westernized. there is a lot to learn from traditional cultures, and i feel that they are slowly being lost in favour of the north american model of life...