As I sat in a cab between domestic and international airports, enjoying a beautiful sunset in Delhi accompanied by one of the better rainbows I've ever seen (all I could ask for from my 10 minute trip within the city) I couldn't help but think to myself about how absolutely, utterly perfect (a word I don't use lightly) this trip has been. That is until I got to the international airport and found out that for some reason our plane never came here from Tokyo, the flight is cancelled and they're putting me on a different flight connecting in Bangkok (tee hee hee) that will arrive in Tokyo about 7 hours later than I had planned. But other than this slight misstep the trip really has been perfect.
The gift of Denise's and her friends' experience, my fellow Ithacans in India, the kids at Adapt, the beautifully affordable shopping, the food, the fact that I haven't fallen deathly ill (knock on wood), the inexplicably great weather conditions (not too hot, not too rainy), the friends I've made, the things I've learned about myself and the world, Prasad and Reiki, and of course Goa, Goa, Goa! I honestly could not have asked for anything more. I couldn't have even really asked for all the things I've gotten without sounding greedy and unrealistic. I literally cannot think of a single thing that I would have changed about the trip, the timing and everything has been perfect (I didn't really get sick of Indian food until the last few days and was able to avoid it or have different, delicious, Goan cuisine). Every experience has been new and different and exciting and I'm continually having the feeling of "Wow! I can't believe today managed to top yesterday".
And it hasn't just been the big things, the stuff I've been writing about. There's so many little quirks and foibles that I haven't even managed to fit into the blog really. The Indian accent I've developed (which isn't so much an accent as a slowing of pace and mimicking of the different way they use English words and form sentences), the auto-ricks, the random misspellings (tyres and jewellery), the way the children treat me like a celebrity just because I'm white, the difference I felt from helping people who need it and appreciate it and the way I felt after helping out thankless beggars (not that I gave to them often or that they were all thankless but some were ridiculous in the way they'd beg and beg and beg and then completely shut off and walk off once they got from you), the way that people who want to know my name ask, "what is your good name sir?", the surprising joy people have shown towards me just for being from America (they like the US more than I do, and not just Indians, other travelers too), the way the Nigerians I met loved me because I mentioned Obama, oh and did I mention Goa! Goa! Goa! And finally the interesting hair I saw from my mole-man on the first flight to the worldly mullets (who knew they were so international) I saw both on a sketchy, obviously stoned out of his gourd Goan who tried to sell me drugs as well as on a nice young man on my flight to Delhi who could have been from any number of asian countries and who sported a legends of rock t-shirt and showed me his new Bob Marley tattoo.
Overall the thing that this trip has taught me most is that, while most places in the world have enough English for me to get by, the most universal language is a nice smile and a kind set of eyes. They have gotten me so much farther then I ever would have imagined and have instilled a new and stronger confidence in myself forever. Everyone told me before this trip about how it would change me and I'd come back a new man and I think the idea frightened me. I didn't want to change. I like who I am. I do have to admit though that while I'm still me I do feel slightly rejuvenated and improved, as if I've gone from Portman Gold to Portman Platinum Plus. It feels good and I hope that India is just the first in a long series of exciting and adventurous travels throughout my lifetime.
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