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goodbye indiargh!

peds says 'no one likes an ugly baby' and that's why you only hear glowing reports of india from other travelers - no one will admit they made a mistake. well I'm not afraid to say it was an ugly baby for me. wont go into detail - have done enough of that already - but can not describe the utter relief I had getting on that plane to nepal.

but the night before, in all fairness, what could've been a stinky train ride to kolkata (I could only get cattle-class seats) was fantastic. my seat-mate, Jagat, is a masters student in english (with no email adress, interestingly enough....) his english made him a great convo partner.

he immediatly asked my view on homosexuality (me: 'I love everyone') and described how hard it is in india. supposedly he has a girlfriend, but the convo felt like the classic "I have this friend who....." sad to get his perspective on friends' challenges being gay in india - think united states circa 1950 or worse...but if indian women can wear hot pants in bollywood movies, hopefully new views all around are soon to come (sadly, I doubt it on this one).

we talked about the role family plays in india vs the independent life we live in the US. he finds it sad we live so far from our families. 'who will take care of your parents?' yeah, its different for us for sure.... but like anything, each has its good and bad aspects.

and the freedom (or not) of women. jagat: 'dont take this the wrong way, but you doing what you're doing [traveling. alone.], well, you would not be considered a good woman in india. do you understand what I am saying?" yeah, I understand you perfectly - that's why I'm more thrilled than ever to be from where I am....

he was awesome - a few hours convo quickly became a highlight of india. and felt great to be watched out for on what can be a crummy route.

we pulled into a different, less chaotic train station than before, but that didn't stop the hordes of taxi touts. the one I got zipped me through 6am empty kolkata streets- I was wishing for a traffic jam just to slow him down. dropped me off at domestic despite saying 'internatonal' 3 times. walked 10 mins to the other terminal.

indiargh - up until the very last minute.

at lest the walk makes me stronger for nepal treking.

don't let the door hit your behind on the way out...I made it. it's over! haven't been this excited for a new country since....well, to be honest, since india ;)

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