I got off the Bangkok airport for the transfer, it was the first time my feet were touching the ground that wasn't India, a bittersweet and tiring moment. As tempting it was to buy something as a souvenir, I wasn't interested in finding out the conversion rates for local currency (they use baht in Thailand) and break my only $500 for a paltry item from the Airport. Yes, apparently my employer was quite a visionary, they sent me to the United States of America for a month with a single bill. If you break it down, it comes to about $5.37 per meal if I chose to eat 3 times a day, suddenly the idea of bringing home made food on the plane didn't sound so lame.
I was still starstruck by the idea of visiting a foreign land, different people and culture although being from India prepares one to learn to get along with different demographics. I had a few hours to kill and that is a very dangerous period to concoct all sorts of crazy ideas. I wasn't convinced if I was the right candidate for whatever I was sent to do but it was already too late, it isn't like I can call it off and take a flight back from Bangkok to New Delhi and get a refund. I was confident about the technical skills, but I was mortified about talking to people. In India we thought of Americans talking with a mouthful of oil or water in other words it was very difficult to make sense of anything unless you squint to the point you feel lightheaded, how was I supposed to do that and still look impressive? More than that, how in the hell are they going to understand me, we talk like it is a race and that was a problem.
As I collected these thoughts, the flight was ready to move on to the next stop, Taipei. I wasn't sure if I was in mainland China, but quickly got educated by one of the signs that it was actually Taiwan, boy the lessons just kept coming.
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