Culture Shock

It hit me before I was  expecting it (I guess that's the shock part). The Chicago O'Hare Airport is a confusing place, so I ended up having to run to catch my flight. I was the only person in the jet way and when I reached the plane door it hit me. My flight attendant was wearing a beautiful orange Sari and greeted me by putting both of her hands together and saying "namaste".  My first taste of India was  Air India flight 126 from Chicago to Frankfurt. I was stared at as I slowly made my way to the back of the plane. I found my self needing eye contact from the other white girl on the plane to feel like I wasn't alone. After I had taken my seat a man from the other side of the plane decided he should come over and talk to me (I didn't know whether to be friendly or ignore him so I settled on an awkward combination of two).  After I had time to adjust a little bit I realized how colorful that plane was. It was beautiful! The seats were bright orange and red with red floral carpeting. I spent the next seven hours watching Bollywood films and eating Indian food. It was great!

In the end it turns out flying Air India helped with the transition and I'm glad I did it.