…the skeptical stares I received in Delhi have been quickly replaced by inviting and inquisitive glances (and even a few smiles). I’m actually starting to feel like a mini celebrity. Last night I met a guy named Aasif who works in a spice shop right around the corner from my guesthouse. We started talking and he invited me to join him and his friends for drinks. On my way to meet Aasif I ran into two independent party workers who I’d shared chai with earlier in the day, and they were motioning for me to get on their motorcycle. Here I am, 8,000 miles from home and being fought over on a dark street in India.
Aasif and his friend were very nice and excited about hanging out with a westerner asking me an endless stream of questions. At the bar we went to I very quickly noticed that there were no women anywhere to be found and thought there had been a terrible miscommunication only to find out that Indian women outside of the big cities don’t go out to bars. Makes sense considering 95% of marriages in India are arranged. I did feel a tad uncomfortable when everyone starting dancing with one another and try as I might I couldn’t keep up with their wicked bollywood inspired moves...
…being woken up at 6:30am by the Mosque across the street and their call to prayer, I ended up watching the sun rise which seems to be an everyday thing now. After breakfast I walked down to the main square and sat and waited while the market opened. Watching the market come to life was a nice way to start the day. As the group grew to 5-6 young kids all waiting for me to turn water into wine or something I began to think about an article I read once about how to survive an attack by a group of children. I take that back, it was really about how to beat up 11 children by yourself. People have been very friendly and helpful and because of this I figured if someone saw some poor white dude getting pummeled by 6-7 10 year old boys, once they stopped laughing they might help a brother out…
