The ramblings of a jet-lagged, over-excited mind
It's Melissa. I left Harlem, New York 24 hours ago, flew over the North Pole and landed back in smoggy ol' Delhi. A heady rush of emotion (and severe jet lag) left me sobbing with emotion as President-elect Obama accepted the nomination. Wow. President Obama. Pretty amazing.
I'm sorry I'm missing the wild parties back in the US, but I'm excited to be back in India for the election for the chance to see how the rest of the world reacts to the news. This is one of the greatest benefits to being an expat abroad: I get to see my country and myself through the eyes of others. It is incredibly easy to forget the outside world when you're living in a nation, like the US, that takes up so much of the news on the world stage. And the US media often opts to forgo international news for the latest sensational news story. In fact, I had a hard time while in the US staying current on Indian news. But for now, there is a good reason all eyes are on the US. We're making history.
From the Indian corner of the world, it seems that people abroad are pretty proud of the US, and excited about the new direction. It's the first time in a long time that being an American abroad doesn't draw complaints, but rather draws complements and congratulations. Since 9/11, I haven't felt such a unification of international and national pride.
That feels pretty good, especially since I've felt my country has been so divided over the past few years, and especially the past few months.
I know: this is rather an incoherent posting. Blame the jet lag. But I do want to ask you guys something. Actually, I want to ask the McCain supporters something. In Obama's acceptance speech he told you he was going to be your president too. Will he be? Can he be? What does he need to do to be?
I, for one, hope so.