spot the odd one out

The hardest thing to adjust to here is being the minority. It's something which, with the exception of a few holidays, I've never properly experienced. The part of Tamil Nadu I am living in is untouched by tourism. Apart from myself and the other volunteer I live with there are no white people in our town and for miles around. We get some very funny looks and people will even go to the length of crossing the road to touch our skin. I am up to a whole head taller than the local women and most of the men. There are days when I feel like a giant white freak show! This was literally the case when we visited a circus. It took ten minutes to get the children to watch the act instead of gawping at us! It is not rude to stare here and women in particular will gaze intently at me despite smiling and greeting them. It can be a little unnerving (I find myself checking for toothpaste moustaches, bogeys etc!). The staring has even led to a couple of biking accidents - people who were so busy looking backwards they didn't see the potholes approaching! All the guidebooks comment about trying not to see yourself as separate from the community in order to help integration. This can be easier said than done. For instance there are usually two entrance fees for attractions in India - one for Indians, one for foreigners. I was taken aback to find the entry fee for a wildlife park was 20R for Indians and 300R for foreigners!! I can appreciate that attractions need to be affordable for the local population but can't help but feel that if the same happened in England there would be a huge outcry and it would be seen as racist. Things are slowly improving though in my town as people no longer notice me when I walk to work. I never thought I'd appreciate something so insignificant so much.