Life is cooperative

There is an open door policy here and you always know if anyone is home.  On the outside facing door of every room in the house, there is a hasp, with a latch on which to hang a lock.  

The door to my apartment

On the inside facing door, there is simply a bolt.  

outside the door to my bedroom

inside the door to my apartment

So if you're passing by anyone's house, you can see if it is locked up or not and you automatically know if anyone is home.

Everyone is always welcome at everyone else’s house all the time.  I've been invited to dinner by several people and they always say, "just stop by anytime".  The thought of showing up at someone's house at 5:30 pm and expecting to eat dinner with the family is a bit alien to me.  I might do it with my family, but I live so far away from my family that the event is unlikely.  However, this is a small, tight-knit community and the behavior stems partly, I expect, from their tribal background and partly because it is so isolated geographically. The open door policy has become the ethos of the people.

You really can’t go anywhere without a vehicle.  The nearest small town in actually less than a mile, and I feel like I could walk (mostly) down to it, but I doubt that I could walk all the way up.

There is a bus that runs several times a day, down and back up to the Presbyterian synod office in Aizawl.  I could get on it by myself, but I would never know where to get off or where to wait to get back on for the return trip.  Every part of Aizawl looks the same as every other part of Aizawl to me, winding streets, hairpin turns, crowded shops.  And shopping will be impossible unless I learn how to count to 100 or so.  However, folks are very honest, they say, and if you give money, you will get the correct change.  No one will cheat you.

If I need something, someone will bring it.  Sometimes they bring things I haven't asked for and don't need.  People have been so kind to offer to take me to the market, or buy food for me, or share whatever they have with me.  It's something we really lack in the US.