If you've traveled to India, you've probably experienced the phenomenon of being stared at. It's not an accusatory stare, or one of malice; it's a stare of extreme curiosity mixed with pleasure and often, if the stare-er is under 15, the giggles. Which got me to thinking about the US Weekly section called, Stars: They're Just Like Us! Before you go a gettin all holier than thou, no, I don't read this magazine regularly; but yes, I have been known to peruse it on occasion, such as when waiting on an interminable line at Duane Reade. At any rate, hopefully this does not come across the wrong way, but when I'm getting stared at here, I kind of feel like one of those stars! I mean, it makes sense that maybe they're thinking, "Hey, that foreigner, she scratches her nose...just like us! Hey, that foreigner, she crosses the street...just like us!"
The other week I had an annoying layover in Delhi. I arrived on the train at 4:30 AM and had to wait until 7:20 AM to board my next train at a different train station. So my friend and I wiled away 2 hours at the Delhi train station waiting for the Metro to open. I had yet to brush my teeth, so decided that I would take a cue from my fellow Indians who are rarely shy about public grooming, bathing and toileting, or really anything, and just brush in the small outdoor cafe where we were waiting. This should attract more staring, right? Well, given that I was already being stared at, and I'm always being stared at, I decided that little more could come of this. And I was right. Was that anticlimactic (Should hit the delete button?)? Well, you get the point.
The other week I had an annoying layover in Delhi. I arrived on the train at 4:30 AM and had to wait until 7:20 AM to board my next train at a different train station. So my friend and I wiled away 2 hours at the Delhi train station waiting for the Metro to open. I had yet to brush my teeth, so decided that I would take a cue from my fellow Indians who are rarely shy about public grooming, bathing and toileting, or really anything, and just brush in the small outdoor cafe where we were waiting. This should attract more staring, right? Well, given that I was already being stared at, and I'm always being stared at, I decided that little more could come of this. And I was right. Was that anticlimactic (Should hit the delete button?)? Well, you get the point.
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