So I'm sitting in Abu Dhabi airport on a seven hour layover on-route to New Delhi and I'm overwhelmed by a number of emotions. Tiredness is definitely the most predominant of them. I'm exhausted from a long flight from Johannesburg, but somehow I can't seem to get any shut-eye. Maybe it's just because I'm constantly watching my hand luggage (South African habit), or maybe it's just the thoughts that are running through my mind of an exciting trip to come, while reminiscing of my previous trip to India nine years ago.
It's amazing how airports can seem so busy one minute, like you're stuck in the middle of a city, and a few moments later everything gets so quiet, almost a ghost town. I suppose that's the marvel of modern day travel.
Sitting in my seat I can't help but be amazed by the amount of culture that passes me by. Americans, French, Muslims, Chinese (.... oh, there are a lot of Chinese). These people are so similar, yet so different in so many ways. A white guy sits down next to me, and without thinking much I say to him "Howzit going?" (a very South African way of say hello). He looks at me to acknowledge my presence, and then proceeds to talk to his wife if what I can only guess is some kind of European language. He didn't have a clue what I was saying. For all he knows I could have said "Go sit on another f!#?ing seat". I was so oblivious to of my own cultural norms I completely forgot he wouldn't know what the hell I was saying. We seemed to similar, yet we were different enough not to understand each other.
I'm both excited and scared to step back into Delhi. Maybe ignorance is helpful in this regard, but I recall the feeling of shock stepping out of the airport, the heat hitting me like a brick wall, and having no clue where I was going. Maybe this time I'll know what to do, but maybe I also won't get those strong feelings of nervous excitement.
Either way, Delhi is not for sissies. Culture shock over there is not something you get to ease through lightly. In fact this is the case for most of India in my experience. And that's why people both love and fear it. Every sense of yours is bombarded with strong sensations. The heat, as I mentioned, the smells (not always pleasant), the tastes (the moment you eat your first meal there) and of course the constant noise of millions of Indians around you. Everything is amplified! It takes a while, but when you start to come to grips with it all, that's when you start to appreciate India for the "culture on steroids" it actually is. A country rich with colour, food, history, and culture.
I am excited!!!!
