(And there’s one in New York, with neither orange groves nor Mouse Ears; I believe it’s named for the Dutch…)
Regarding the still-unanswered India questions.
(1) Caste System:
A lot of people in India, especially those living in cities, like to think it is non-existent now. True, in cities, the lower castes are not segregated to the extent they were a hundred years ago. Still, there is a strong under-current of the caste system within social interactions. Maidservants and rickshaw-pullers are treated a tad bit different by some people. Examples may include what utensil they are given to drink water in (even what water they are given in the event of a water crisis!), how much freedom they are given to enter a house, how they wear their clothes in an upper-caste person’s presence. Subtle, but evident.
Also, despite a great deal of de-segregation we can trust the politicians to keep the wounds festering for political purposes. This to me, is the part that is most overlooked by those who tend to think of caste as a dead system. Caste plays a HUGE role in elections. Politicians play upon the lack of improvement within a certain caste. The erst-while upper class feel resentment from the ubiquitous (and sometimes atrocious) quota system in schools and jobs that are seemingly designed to uplift the lower castes.
Lastly, one must also not forget that active caste-based discrimination is still practiced in some towns and villages where a large % of Indian population lives.
The fossilization of occupation across generations is definitely non-existent.
(2) Re: Music and Dance in films
Think of the film as a kitschy musical dance-drama.
I don’t live in Asia, but most of my blood relatives do.
To an extent, you’re right; Asians don’t consume a lot of dairy products. Cereal and milk isn’t the normal breakfast food. Soy milk is more popular than cow milk. Cheese platters aren’t the typical party snack.
The reason, however, is more than “milk goes bad and must be thrown out”. Asian cuisine simply didn’t develop with a heavy dairy influence. The geography of large parts of Asia is unsuitable for dairy farming (which requires a particular climate and oodles of grazing land). Ergo, dairy products have never formed part of the traditional cuisine.
As a sidenote, you may know that adult lactose tolerance in Europeans is caused by thousands of years of dairying (not the other way around). It follows that Asian people, who lack a long history of eating milk products, tend towards lactose intolerance.
Cheese doesn’t contain much lactose, but Asian aversion towards it may be explained by the fact that it’s not part of the traditional diet. Like tofu to Westeners. 
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Incidentally, in this post I’m speaking about the people of East/South-east Asia. British people commonly use “Asian” to mean the people of the Indian subcontinent; in the US and Australia it means otherwise.
Thanks! That makes sense. If you don’t have a lot of cows, milk isn’t going to be commonly used.
I’m not sure I buy any of the theories I’ve heard regarding lactose intolerance. They all seem to ignore the fact that mother’s milk contains lactose. But, that’s getting a bit far off topic, and we already have a soccer/football debate raging in this thread. Another hijack won’t help.
Tofu! Blah! 
When I was living in Japan (Nagoya and Nara) I found that the only aspect of the western diet Japanese found truly gross (or at least gross enough to say it in front of me) was cheese, especially anything a bit more on the ripe side. They compared it with natto, a truly vile substance made from aged soybeans that’s popular in Tokyo but despised in other regions.
What saddened me as an assistant teacher was that milk was still a standard part of school lunches, a (well-intentioned) holdover from the U.S. occupation. Kids often couldn’t digest it, yet some teachers would actually force them to drink it down. (Most knew better and would let kids throw it out, which of course was a waste but at least didn’t make the kids ill.)
Actually, if I recall correctly, the gene for lactose tolerance is present in all children when they are born. However, the “default mode” of the gene usually “switches off” when the child grows older. In fact, those humans who are lactose tolerant have a mutated version of the gene, which makes them retain this characteristic. This link has information about this. This also touches on the subject.
I don’t mean to hijack again…
But I simpy cannot understand why milk is still part of the daily regiment in schools here in the United States.
I was forced to drink milk in elementary school. I am not lactose intolerant…I eat all kinds of dairy products. I think my intolerance to milk in its “natural” form is more psychological than anything. When I drink it, I vomit. It has always been the case…always will be.
I sat in detention a lot as a kid because of my refusal to drink milk. I still react to it the same way as an adult.
Aha! Finally, a theory that makes sense! (Good link, BTW) It’s nature’s way of saying “Grow up! Go eat some solid food, and leave your poor mother alone.” 
Actually, it’s probably so Ma can nurse the new baby without Junior hogging all the milk.
So, we milk tolerant specimens need to have pity on the poor, unevolved intolerants?
French people: If I came to y’all’s country and totally butchered the French language (which I do all the time, despite 4 or so years of studing the language), would y’all make fun of me, like I’ve heard?
English people: I had a friend whose mom and older sister were English. Her sister went back to England after 8th grade and came to visit for 6 weeks at a time 2 or 3 times a year. Here generally school breaks are 10-12 weeks for summer and 1 or 2 weeks for Christmas and spring break. How is the year divided in England? And do students get a year before going off to college?university/whatever y’all call it, I would like to know.
Canadians: Smarties in Canada are the same as M&Ms here in the US, right? So do y’all have M&Ms as well? What are fries with gravy called? (had some when I went to Quebec, those were good.) Are ketchup potato chips an aquired taste or something? Do other countries have those?
English school breaks are typically:
- 6 weeks off late July - early Sept
- 1 week off late October (half term)
- 2 weeks off Christmas
- 1 week off Late Feb (half term)
- 2 weeks off Easter
- 1 week off late May (half term)
Students can take a year off before going to college. Most don’t, but it is not uncommon - maybe 20% or so do (a guess).
Dude, y’alls ain’t gotta go nowheres to be made fun of; just keep posting in that dialect. Or, visit Boston. We could use a laugh, about now.
Sorry. I type like I talk. Don’t say ain’t that much though. We Texans sometimes get a little personal about ‘y’all’ and calling all carbonated beverages Coke, so don’t be surprised if you come down here and we argue with you.
Okay, back to your (y’all’s ;))regularly scheduled post.
Mehitabel:
Like someone else mentioned, aspects of the caste system do play out, but it’s obviously subliminal. One thing, that has to be noted if that often it’s the politicians who foster such a state. An educated populace wouldn’t vote for these politicians
Sublight:
It is not a recent trend. In fact, it is rare to find movies that don’t have songs in them. I can’t even think of 5 right now (from the 100+ that are released every year).
Irrespective of these songs, these movies aren’t musicals. In Western musicals generally, the lyrics have something to do with the specifics. Whereas, in Hindi movies, lyrics might be related to the movie, but don’t count on it. Another thing that needs to be discarded while watching a Hindi movie is logic. If a movie is making sense to you, make sure 1) you aren’t drunk 2)it really is a Hindi movie. In some movies, songs are the best part of the movie. Till about a decade back, the overwhelming majority of Hindi pop music was from the films. There were no “bands”. Having said that, some of the old Hindi melodies are head and shoulders above the trash produced today. In fact, with half a musical ear, you can hear the strains of the olden melodies in modern offerings.
Shirley Ujest:
In general, well-revered and proud of her. Although, like anywhere else, some feel she was unrealistic and had a naive way.
I’ve never been to Calcutta. But areas in Bombay are just as bad. If that’s any indication, I’ve no doubt.
Sorry Gyan9. I believe you were the one who offered answers but you were nowhere to be found
Oh, no problem. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I checked the thread for sometime and when no one asked any question, I stopped checking.
When are US school holidays?
This will surely vary a great degree from school district to school district. However, here is what was observed in my city this school year:
August 26: School begins
September 8: Labor Day
October 24-25: State Teacher’s Convention
November 8: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Novermber 11: Veteran’s Day
November 28-29: Thanksgiving
December 21-January 1: Winter Vacation (the name has been changed from Christmas break because of the obvious religious connotations that result from the word “Christmas”)
January 20: Staff Development Day (not sure what that means, but I have a feeling this day is set aside in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day for those who wish to observe it)
February 17: Washington’s Birthday (actually, a storm make-up day)
February 28: Parent-Teacher conferences
March 13-14: more storm make-up days. Since my birtday is on March 13, I commonly referred to this as my “birthday vacation” when I was in school. Also, many state sports tournaments are held on this weekend, so the extra two days off do the athletes a lot of good.
April 17-21: Spring/Easter break (Easter for those who wish to observe it). The 17th is also set aside as another storm make-up day
May 26: Memorial Day
May 29: Last day of school
The summer vacation generally last from the last weekend in May/first weekend in June until the last weekend in August.
Oh, a Texan! I should’ve known. Well then, y’all are from a foreign country.
But, maybe you can answer a question for me. I’ve heard of that bizarre custom of calling all sodas “Coke”. What I don’t understand is why people down there think it’s easier to ask for a “root beer flavored Coke”, instead of a “root beer”, or whatever. I don’t see the advantage. (Of course, if I were a true New Englander, I’d have called it tonic, instead of soda.)
In my experience, “Coke” in the UK refers to any mainstream cola brand. If you asked for Coke and got Pepsi-Cola, you wouldn’t even think of complaining.
If you go to someone’s house this is how it goes:
-You want a Coke?
-Sure. What types you got?
-Coke, Dr. Pepper, root beer, and Sprite.
-I’ll have a Dr. Pepper
Now, as for why everything’s Coke down here, you’re asking the wrong person. It’s just a thing that started a long time ago and just continued for no real reason. There’s no advantage (except confusing the poor non-Texan at McDonald’s, though there’s enough non-Texans in Houston that iI would be better off if I just asked for Dr. Pepper when I wanted one )
Tonic? Never heard that one before. I thought everyone up north called Cokes/sodas pop