Monkeys, dogs and Tatas.
I arrived in New Delhi today and thought, "Yes, this is where I'm supposed to be right now."
What a comforting feeling to have in a foreign country.
And yes, I kept on thinking that even when I saw my first man peeing on the side of the road.
If only that had remained a rare and shocking thing. No such luck.
Juxtapositions abound already, and I'm expecting much more in the following days.
There are packs of mangy dogs running amok, while just down the street a man is walking his obviously pampered Pomeranian.
Everyone at the bus stop is on a cell phone, while monkeys sit on the garbage bins or stroll along the sidewalk.
As for Tatas - not what you think. These are a brand of cars that we saw all over Ethiopia.
Seeing them here was my first link to my last trip.
The more I travel, the more I realize how the world connects. Be it Tatas or squinches, religion or art or food or music. My joy comes from finding those connections and making more of them for myself. Leaving New York today, I tried to make conversation with a woman in the shuttle bus. She told me she only spoke Spanish, and asked if I spoke any. Somehow, with our limited vocabulary, I managed to tell her that I was starting Spanish lessons soon, and she told me that she was from Guatemala. Her face lit up when I said I had been there. She knew what I meant when I said, "Beautiful." Then she practiced counting in Spanish with me, and we shared which terminals we were headed to in Spanish. My first lesson was complete.
I can't wait to see what lessons India has to offer.
I arrived in New Delhi today and thought, "Yes, this is where I'm supposed to be right now."
What a comforting feeling to have in a foreign country.
And yes, I kept on thinking that even when I saw my first man peeing on the side of the road.
If only that had remained a rare and shocking thing. No such luck.
Juxtapositions abound already, and I'm expecting much more in the following days.
There are packs of mangy dogs running amok, while just down the street a man is walking his obviously pampered Pomeranian.
Everyone at the bus stop is on a cell phone, while monkeys sit on the garbage bins or stroll along the sidewalk.
As for Tatas - not what you think. These are a brand of cars that we saw all over Ethiopia.
Seeing them here was my first link to my last trip.
The more I travel, the more I realize how the world connects. Be it Tatas or squinches, religion or art or food or music. My joy comes from finding those connections and making more of them for myself. Leaving New York today, I tried to make conversation with a woman in the shuttle bus. She told me she only spoke Spanish, and asked if I spoke any. Somehow, with our limited vocabulary, I managed to tell her that I was starting Spanish lessons soon, and she told me that she was from Guatemala. Her face lit up when I said I had been there. She knew what I meant when I said, "Beautiful." Then she practiced counting in Spanish with me, and we shared which terminals we were headed to in Spanish. My first lesson was complete.
I can't wait to see what lessons India has to offer.
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