CAIO SUD AMERICA, NAMASTE INDIA !!!!

So, after a long 17 hours in transit for a flight that should have taken me from Quito to Caracas in 3 hours, I arrived in Caracas at 11:00 pm. Got to my hotel, which was pure luxury compared to some of the shit holes we stayed in. This was to be my last nite in South America. I left the MTV channel on all nite so I could absorb every bit of Spanish music while I was there. On the flight from Panama city to Caracas, I met this lovely man who invited me to stay with him and his wife instead of going to the hotel. He said if I ever came to Caracas again, I was to think of his home as my own! Loved the people in this beautiful continent…always ready with a smile, and a Buenos dias, and a como estas. Then, from Caracas to Frankfurt, a 9 hour flight, I sat next to a German man, who didn’t even say hi to me the entire time. Had 5 hours to kill in Frankfurt so I decided to go out for a little bit of a walk to get some air. I walked out of the airport, and literally turned around and walked back in! I had forgotten what cold feels like. OMG!!! I don’t think my body is capable of dealing with low temperatures any longer.

After a mai tai and a caipirinhia in the lounge, I stumbled over to the boarding gate to make my way to New Delhi. This time again, I sat with a lady who didn’t even say hi. FINE BY ME!!! Arrived in India and my first interaction with an Indian was with the immigration officer. He looked at my passport, and then looked at me a few times. Then asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a pharmacist which obviously led him to ask me how much I made every month. I was a bit shocked about the personal question and then I remembered I am in India. There is nothing personal here. So, the next question was if I was married…and I told him..been there done that. He was genuinely concerned and asked me why it didn’t work out and if I had married a foreigner! Before I left the counter, he told me that I was lovely and would have no problem finding a man. Phew! Thank God, now I can go on with my life! LOL! Ahh....third world!!! People are so much warmer, friendlier, more interesting and absolutely CRAZY!

My cousin had come to receive me at the airport and I kept him awake until 4 am talking. Thanks to jet lag! After spending the day in Delhi, shopping for clothes that would not give my grandma a heartattack…”decent clothes” they call them here. Means anything that is unflattering, shapeless, non cleavage revealing and I don’t have anything like that in my backpack! Finally after a 5 hour train journey, we arrived in Jalandhar, my hometown, and there were about 20 people to see me. Everyone’s reaction…OMG, what happened to you? You are so dark, so skinny! My grandma literally had tears in her eyes from pity for me. “Oh my poor daughter”, she said, “You’ve been drifting around the world, with nothing to eat, carrying such a heavy back pack.” Not to worry though, coz she’s told me once I drink milk and eat yogurt, I will lose my tan and get my color back. Such drama queens! It’s absolutely hilarious. So, we all sat in my granny’s room and ofcourse within 15 minutes we were talking about finding me a man. Everyone had their two cents to put in…so far, they are going to put an ad in the newspaper in the matrimonial section to find me a man, spread the word to all the relatives that I am single, get me back to a fair and lovely color. All this in one night. I knew there was a reason why I loved my family so much. Can you imagine me having an arranged marriage? That in itself is a joke! I love them so much. My friends have all been calling and coming over to visit. I am only here for 10 days and so they want to make the best use of me…i.e. party! I am an excuse for everyone to get together and go dancing coz they know I love to party. LOL! I am all partied out at the moment and just need some time to detoxify and recuperate before I go to Osho ashram. Heard there’s a party there every evening. Anyway, I can ramble on…so off I go for now!