Introverts

Ok... so don't freak out about the image... like all very red, blurry images in this blog, this too comes from my phone...

So... did I ever get to recount that I slept with a stranger, who was also a girl? And before our adult minds wonder into that beyond innocence (I use the term very loosely), I meant to say I slept in the same room with a stranger who was a girl, and we slept on two separate beds! there!

On my way to Sri Lanka this time I was stranded in NYC, for 24 freaking hours. This whole episode later earned me a $300 voucher from AA. But (isn't there always a but), that night itself was like Murphy decided to come a knocking on my door. So when I missed my flight close to midnight all counters were closed... when they finally re-opened the next day at 4am I had found another girl, Quebecois, who also happened to be going to SL via Doha... AA gave us each one night's hotel stay... but when we showed up at the hotel at 5am, the receptionist goes "well you have one night's board, you have to check out by 11am.". This other girl, in a moment of extreme genius, that I would not have thought of for the love of my life said "well I will use my voucher for one night and get a double room so you can stay with me; then at 11, you can use yours and do the same". Of course I said yes... and I must admit, I was prepared to share a bed, so to get two beds was a luxury to me!! And so we rested well and embarked on our new flight the next day...

My mom always says, "everything happens for a reason" and everytime we roll our eyes... But every time things do happen for a reason, I think of my mother's words of wisdom... If I had to go back, I would miss that flight again, and be screwed all over again by AA... She is a cool person to know... I mean I don't know *any* North American or European... no wait I don't know any non-Sri Lankan, with no ties to Sri Lanka, who has gone to Sri Lanka for volunteer work. I know a few North Americans who go to South and Central America... but really going to South Asia is a different challenge, harder at many levels. I know a couple people who went to South East Asia for volunteer work for the Cambodian war, but they did so when they were older and they did so with a whole bunch of other people from their country... This girl was 23 and she went alone!!

Back in Sri Lanka, she and I hung out, I introduced her to my brother and his girlfriend. She was there for an internship (but with no pay), but I thought it'd be nice for her to know a few locals; she already stayed with a local, who was once her classmate, but he was leaving the country soon.

We met for beer today at Vice Versa. We both had Clé des Champs from le Brasseurs et Frères (highly recommended beer blanche, if you are into that German wheat beer btw). But really the point of this post is not to tell you of the beer... and sorry for the long prelude, but it was necessary...

At some point the overall cheery she said "it was a little hard in Sri Lanka; I would go to my apartment after work and have nothing to do... I would just sit alone by myself"... I immediately apologized for my introvert brother and his girlfriend. She protested profusely - no one wants to be patronized. But so she would not think I was patronizing her, which I really wasn't, I recounted a party that I went to here, comprising entirely of francophones... and out of about 20 people, exactly four people made an effort to include me by talking to me, and they spoke mostly French. Later as I lamented the situation, I was told that the others didn't speak to me because they were shy as their English wasn't good, and lately I have decided this was in fact the main reason I was left out; after all Quebecois can be a little over sensitive to their English language capabilities and I guess like everywhere in the world it's been beaten into them that if they have an accent it is not good English, no matter how perfect the grammar might be. But on the other hand the 4 people who tried to include me, did talk to me in French mostly. But like I said at that time, "maybe they were shy to speak to me... but what they didn't realize was how much more shy I was that night".

Calling on all introverts: if your thought process permits you, please think about the one odd fish amongst you and speak to them. They'd be happy that you did, and maybe, just maybe so will you. In the very off case they turn out to be a bitch or an asshole, you still got nothing to lose - you walk away, and never set eyes on them ever again... Does it really matter what some bitch out there whose path you can very well keep out of, thinks about you? No! And no it also is not worth it, to punish the majority who clearly aren't like that... in my opinion!! :)