Spark

George

"Where do you see beauty?" 

At first the answer might seem obvious: George's legs, but when asked this in debrief, I didn't hesitate to [I'm writing this on a train and I just saw two camels, felt significant enough to mention] answer "confidence and humour". (Prior to this debrief I had been in an infamous Namaskar hotel room, the quality of which I hope to see in other's blogs, for the day all by myself, which was so INCREDIBLY B O R I N G that I really had no choice but to ponder life's great mysteries, but no worries I apparently only missed out on raspberry slice!

Confidence and humour are the two things which I first notice in someone, and two things I hope others notice in me. Before I came to India, why would I have thought I'd find them here, why would a society so opposite to mine show any similarities? Yet everywhere we go we're met by people, smiling and inquisitive, ready to joke about all the things I've joked about all my life, querying into where we're from and where we're headed and and who we are and why are my legs so stunning. 

One moment that sticks with me is back in Kolkata, in a school 40 meters down one of too many mysterious alleyways off a bustling street. In which we were welcomed in a concrete classroom by a girl of maybe 12, who stood in front of both her class and these lofty foreigners, and gave us a little presentation on New Zealand, after which she launched herself headlong into a lively conversation with us about her successful rugby career. I hope I didn't show it but I was blown away.

The little things find their way to my heart too, like the girls sitting next to me giggling at me, I assume they're just jealous of my brilliantly Smooth and Soft legs. And the guys my age in their little gangs talking smack about funny looking foreigners and their beautiful legs. And the spirited, yet ruthless drive on the rugby field. And the bartering, of which I quietly remain queen supreme.

I suppose it might have been ignorant of me not to expect the people to share the same uniqueness and spark I find at home, but I've only ever lived in places where I'm surrounded by people like me. To now find myself staring into the soul of this place which is truly nothing like anything I've ever seen or known, and to see the keen eyes of the beautiful humanity I recognise from home staring back, is the most personally confronting and affecting thing I've experienced so far.