I don't know if it is the:
The tall thing
The cute thing
The black thing
The foreign thing or the U.S.thing (Mike says, since obama, thin black men are in)
The man thing
Or what (probably some combination) but Tres arrived India with all his lanky enthusiasm, his outgoing personality and a sense of humilty, respect and curiousity for this place and he attracting swarms of people- young men his age, little girls and boys are running to meet him, shake his hand, take a picture with him, ask him questions, get his phone number!! It's crazy. Even if we stop for a minute to take a picture, there are crowds. If he goes anywhere people just come up to him and then they don't want to let him go. You would think he was some kind of star.
I have to say, it is amazing to see Tres (mike) operate. Within minutes of any situation he is talking to the porters, the drivers, the receptionists, the priests; he is asking their names, shaking their hands, doing something that i do much less of- asking lots of questions and somehow hanging for a long time in the conversation even as the language gap seems to be impossible to overcome. Got to say, i love this kid.
I am also watching him adjust to India as i did- the cows and the cars seem like the biggest thing.
Everyday has been filled with awesome temples and experiences- he made up a dinner game we play each day. Each of us has to share:
1. Best experience of the day
2. What you learned about India
3. What you learned about the world- india and the day in context
4. What you learned about the other person
(Sound familiar?)
How have i managed these many days in India without him?
So the apple and tree are having an amazing time together. :):)
It's all that: a tall thing, a handsome thing, a black thing, a charisma thing, and a US thing, but mostly it's a Tres thing, a booming Tres thing. I love Obama but I'm not going to give him any credit for this; there was a Tres-thing long before Obama became president. We all know where Tres got his star-power. I'm adding a son-of-Verna thing to the list of what it is. Does III know how often strangers interrupt his mother for a photo of herself?
ReplyDeleteI advise keeping III away from any microphone with back up. I don't think the youth of India could handle those pensive lyrics so rhythmically put on top of all those beams already shooting off him.
I would love to hear the daily winners of What you learned about the world and What you learned about the other person.
Kisses, Mary
your're sweet Ms.Mary- and happy b-day to a girl who has a lot of her own star power. I also realized that it's a young thing cause while people mostly stared at me, they seem connected to him as young people; the older people still stare at him although ocassionally the older men do come up to him too. So the male things works well especially with the porters and drivers. Yesterday tres learned about me-where his lack of facility with new languages comes from. I howled when he said it, because it is true, i am terrible with language and he and i are always trying to remember how to say something simple like hello and thank you in Tamil- it's a struggle for us both.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the other day we hung out for a little while with a group of kids and had a ball dancing and signing and rapping. it was a real cultural exchange. Michael Jackson was popular! love ya
I laughed too. I did not imagine shortcomings were on the table in the what-did-you-learn-about-the-other-person round of the dinner game. The blogosphere offers the idyllic, brightly colored, and flowing take, like so many saris and pashminas. Then here comes Tres with a bite of reality. Still, I remember you in Latin IV, the girl with the perpetual raised hand when it came to translating whole sections of the Aeneid. No doubt if you were spending your birthday in ancient Rome your conversation with locals would be smokin'
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