Saturday, September 12, 2009

half way around the world

In a few hours I will board a plane heading in direction of India. 30 hours later I will be there... It will be the 27th country that I visited and my first real trip in Asia. (I've been to Azerbaijan before, but I was 10 then, so I do not remember much.)

I am very excited about this trip. I know that I will love India, its rich culture and wonderful colorfulness. I probably will have problem dealing with poor and sick people begging on the streets, but I will try to get over it as soon as possible. Everybody tries to scare me a bit that I will attract a lot of attention due to my blond hair, but I am not worried about that. I have traveled before in Africa for two months, so I am used to looking different than others and attracting attention. If anything, being different helps. People immediately recognize you as a tourist and try to help you as much as they can. They want you to have a good trip and fell in love with their country, city, village, culture. Men of course would not mind if you would fall in love with them too :) During my trip in Africa I was asked thousands of times if I am married and if I would like to get married :) I guess for man there to have a white, moreover blond, woman would mean going up a prestige ladder a lot. I have already decided that if Indian men will show similar interest in me, I will claim that I am engaged or married.

One big unknown of my trip is how meeting of my future parents in law will go. Needless to say, it is very important to me that they like me and that we get along, but those things are always difficult to predict. Especially if two very different cultures meet. So keep your fingers crossed that it goes well.