(West) Indian Girl -What Are You Afraid Of?

"To jump on a plane and land a
Thousand miles away
Just to see what we came to be"

The wanderlust hit me last night while I was shopping at the Bollywood Market for saffron. I had been in this store before but it was nostalgia, not a pull to return, that made it delightful. It was a place in my life when I had more reason to stay than go. Less distracted by normalcy this time, I wandered the aisles looking at their yogurt, okra, and dhal, read packages and bought way more than I should have. India, I miss you.

This morning I made upma (Cream of Wheat/farina is the closest equivalent) with coconut, raisins and honey. As I stood over my cook top was reminded of squatting outside on Matthew and Jeeva’s porch trying to ignite that finicky gas camping stove and the thrill of excitement when it finally lit. We would toss in whatever we had- sultanas, coconut flakes, bananas and ate it as a sweet breakfast cereal. Indians don’t eat it that way; they usually put things like peas, tomatoes and curry leaves in to make breakfast. There must have been a plethora of oddities that our hosts tolerated and never commented on.

So in light of the current pull Eastward, the internal debate rages on, what do I do with the next chunk of my life? Yoga instruction? Travel to a foreign land? Is it reasonable to do this before film school? I have this escapist impulse when things are just… normal. Most people appreciate predictability, but for me it represents stagnancy. Maybe I need to grow up.

Maybe go to India?