(no subject)
When I was in India I ALWAYS felt like people would ask me a question and ACTUALLY CARE what my response was.
In America it's standard to say "how are you?" as you walk by someone. People don't stop to hear your answer, they probably don't give it a second thought, and they DON'T think it's impolite!
In India I was greeted with smiles. When we went to villages -- with people who had little in the way of possessions to give us -- we were given bangles, or beautiful flowers, or smiles, or simply curious eyes. It didn't matter what "language" any of us spoke. We spoke with hand gestures, body language, smiles, eyes... and it felt so much more substantial than anything I knew before that and since.
In India, I sat on a bench and held random, but meaningful conversations. I called well-known filmmakers, artists, etc... and had lunch with them. They were real people... with the desire to give you real time -- to talk, to explore, to contemplate.
I'm not disillusioned. I don't think that EVERYONE can give you ALL their time, ALL THE TIME... but the fact that I got to meet, and interact with some really interesting people was mind blowing. I started thinking about those experiences a bunch lately.
P.S.
I've been home for 51 LONG DAYS.
They say when you fall in love, and then something happens... it ends, whatever... They say, it takes just as long to "move on" from that lost love, as the amount of time you were in it.
In that case, I was in India for 94 days... in love with that country and experience for most of those days. That means "ideally" I have another 43 days to go, to lessen this heart ache of mine. I'm not sure I believe it will ever stop, but it has got to get better... right? RIGHT???
I miss my friends in India. E-mailing is fine. Talking on the phone is nice. But nothing is like getting to see the smile on your friends face, hearing their teasing tone, and living the moment.
Sigh. Some days are better than other.
In America it's standard to say "how are you?" as you walk by someone. People don't stop to hear your answer, they probably don't give it a second thought, and they DON'T think it's impolite!
In India I was greeted with smiles. When we went to villages -- with people who had little in the way of possessions to give us -- we were given bangles, or beautiful flowers, or smiles, or simply curious eyes. It didn't matter what "language" any of us spoke. We spoke with hand gestures, body language, smiles, eyes... and it felt so much more substantial than anything I knew before that and since.
In India, I sat on a bench and held random, but meaningful conversations. I called well-known filmmakers, artists, etc... and had lunch with them. They were real people... with the desire to give you real time -- to talk, to explore, to contemplate.
I'm not disillusioned. I don't think that EVERYONE can give you ALL their time, ALL THE TIME... but the fact that I got to meet, and interact with some really interesting people was mind blowing. I started thinking about those experiences a bunch lately.
P.S.
I've been home for 51 LONG DAYS.
They say when you fall in love, and then something happens... it ends, whatever... They say, it takes just as long to "move on" from that lost love, as the amount of time you were in it.
In that case, I was in India for 94 days... in love with that country and experience for most of those days. That means "ideally" I have another 43 days to go, to lessen this heart ache of mine. I'm not sure I believe it will ever stop, but it has got to get better... right? RIGHT???
I miss my friends in India. E-mailing is fine. Talking on the phone is nice. But nothing is like getting to see the smile on your friends face, hearing their teasing tone, and living the moment.
Sigh. Some days are better than other.