Don’t be misled
by the title. It is not about wonder of Latin America. It is more about what
Latinos found wondrous about us. I was flattered, amused and amazed – all of
them put together at various points. Do tell me what you make of the following:
- “How long did you have to travel to reach here?”
- “So, did you go to US to study English?”
- “Do you wear Sarees to office?” This was from someone whose wife was an absolute India fan and found India fascinating. He, himself, seemed to have a fondness for the country.
- “Do you eat with hand?” Same guy as above. He had to do this at some restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, where he had spent some years.
- “How come you speak to each other in English?”
- “Are all the people in India vegetarian? No? Then why are both of you?” This we got asked quite frequently, since both of us were Vegetarian.
- “Is India really as spiritual as they show in Movies?”
- “You have such nice skin colour? Everyone here wants it. I will give you a discount because you have such nice colour!”
Despite and
because of everything, I found the people warm and friendly, as eager to show
off their land and culture as any of us. Be it nodding a ‘no’ to our request of
“English, please” or an “Ah, yes” when they did manage to understand what we
were trying through bad mime. The clients and colleagues who very thoughtfully translated
the Spanish menus, our queries for vegetarian food to uncomprehending waiters
and waitresses and wrote down for us the places to visit during our free time.
So, Gracias, Latin America.
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