This is our second day in Delhi. We just moved to our less fancy hotel, where Caleb stayed when he first came. And because Caleb has committed to sing at a party in Damarshala--a party that a traditional Tibetan singer is throwing! So basically we are just going to make a fool of ourselves—he is “rehearsing” what he believes to be a bolero, even though it sounds more like a ranchera. It’s gonna be a mess, and I already have that nervous laugh, to which Caleb responds: “How am I supposed to become a great musician if you don’t support me?” which just makes me laugh even harder. Caleb is a very optimistic person, but I believe that this is the price I must pay for kind of forcing Caleb to go out with Sandra and Alejandro, a Colombian couple that lives here in Delhi.
Caleb cannot understand why it is that Colombians love to meet up with other Colombians when they travel, and to be honest I don’t really know why either. I think I am just so grateful to that Colombian couple that helped me in Bangkok after my passport got stolen that from now on I promise to find a Colombian couple in every single country I visit… just in case. So I told Caleb that we had to go and meet Sandra and Alejandro, period; and I took his phone and called Sandra. She is a very sweet girl, and we pretty much spoke on the phone for 15 minutes, we laughed and we even said “besos” (kisses) at the end of our conversation. When we hung up Caleb was even more confused. “How come you don’t know this woman and you are able to speak as if you’ve known her for a long time? And you even sent her kisses?” But that’s the secret of the tropic, the rain forest and our indigenous heritage. We are genuinely good, generous people… we even let Spaniards take all our gold and kill our gods. So there we were in our little orange room waiting for the two strangers to come pick us up.
Sandra and Alejandro were unable to find the hotel, so we agreed to meet up at a mall close by. We didn’t have to give each other any kind of hint of how we were dressed or anything, we knew we were going to recognize each other among the saris and the brown skins. At least they were going to recognize me because I definitely stand out in this city. In fact, today at Indian Gate a little girl and her mom asked me if they could take a picture of me. I thought they meant they wanted me to take a picture of them, but I was wrong. As if I were Minnie Mouse at Disney World they stood beside me, and there I am in the memory card of some Indian stranger, who’s probably bragging about meeting a pale, blondish life form.
But back to Sandra and Alejandro. They did recognize me, and luckily because they both look so Indian! So it never crossed our minds that they were the Colombian couple we were waiting for. And that’s another wonder of Colombians, we are such a “salpicón” (fruit salad). There are the white, mushy bananas like me; the sweet, pinkish watermelons that despite being Latinos and Latinas are unable to get a tan; the exotic, juicy mangoes-- the Latina and Latino category that the world likes the most; and the brownish grapes like Sandra and Alejandro (among others of course). So there we were, the moment had arrived, we had met the bodies, the owners of the voices on the other side of the phone. We went to have dinner in a little neighbourhood called Hauz Khan Village, which is the equivalent to Yorkville in Toronto or to La zona rosa in Bogota. We had tapas and talked, talked, talked. Luckily Sandra’s and Alejandro’s English is good, and Caleb excels at pretending he understands Spanish, so the conversation went smoothly. In fact, they are very nice people! And I believe Caleb is realizing why it is that Colombians keep wanting to get together, even if it is in on the other side of the world.
Today, for instance, we went to the Art Gallery with Sandra, who picked us up at the hotel, and trust me, a car with AC is very much appreciated when it is 45°C outside.
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| Living the good life with Sandra at Humayun's Tomb |
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