I Love India!

I love India! I love the craziness and the chaos and the dirtiness of the streets, the trains, and the buses. I love the people, their beauty and elegance amid thier harsh living conditions. I love the food, the inticing smells of fried foods on every street, the lure of sweets and the refreshing fruit juices and lassis spilling from street stalls. I love the masses of people and their genuine curiosity and excitement to see me. I love the gentle nature of people that is often hidden beneath a rough, crude exterior. But most of all, I love how comfortable I am here, how easily India has taken me in her arms and welcomed me.

India is a developing country through and through, and there's something about that which is familiar and comforting. I feel like I fit in here, like I belong despite the fact that its impossible for me to blend in. There is chaos everywhere, but amongst the chaos are smiles, friendly hellos, and people with the same hopes, dreams, and desires as me. It's easy to put up a barrier, to keep my head down, to ignore the hellos, and to walk quickly from point A to point B. But why? What am I trying to hide from? Saying hello and waving to everyone is not realistic, giving money to every beggar will make me just as poor as them, but there is no harm in slowing down just a little, throwing out a few smiles, waving to the women and children, and acknowledging at least some of the hellos from the men. The attention is not given with harrasing motives, but out of genuine curiosity and shock for seeing a white person. The simple act of walking down the street can be exhausting and as much as I want to engage with the people, there are just far too many of them, and only one of me. I just hope I don't come across as offensive or rude when I ignore people.