It seems more and more like a dream the way the world is now.
Moonraker wrote: He passes through dangerous places where I wouldn't want to visit.
Neither would I. Too much bloodshed.
My dad was in Dubai recently, and he was in a cab with a cabbie who was clearly not a local. They started talking, and it turned out he was from Pakistan. Now I hope most of you are aware of the bad and sad history between India and Pakistan. But that man seemed so happy to be in a cab with my dad. He told him "Our countries may be rivals, but here, so far from home, you seem like a brother to me. You remind me of home, and I live for these moments, in which I meet fellow South Asians. "
My dad asked him how long he had been in Dubai.
"17 years. But next month, I'm going back home, forever."
"Why?"
"Idhar kaam hai, paisa hai, lekin ghar nahi hai, saab." (There is money and work here, but there is no home.)
"My daughter is getting married soon. I never even got a chance to watch her grow. Now I finally have enough savings to go home and spend time with my younger kids."
My dad says the sheer joy on his face, at seeing someone who spoke his language, and knew what he was talking about, was something he will never forget. The man was from Peshawar, a place near the Afghanistan border that we would never visit even if we were paid too. Too much terrorism. But the people are never bad.
We have had this experience so many times when we visit foreign countries. An Indian and a Pakistan having a friendly conversation in India? lol. But abroad? Every single Brown street hawker will see your skin color, ask where you're from, and reply with a "I'm from Pakistan!" or "I'm from Bangladesh!" It's amazing.
I'm a terrible babbler, am I not?
When I was talking about badly behaved kids I didn't have this angle in mind at all but anyways.