Journey pt1.

“ah, yes you couldn’t check in online because the first flight is cancelled so you won’t make the connecting flight.”

These were the words that greeted me at the check in counter at Zurich airport as I was about to begin my journey to Mysuru on Thursday.

“Right.”

(My go to when “What the Fu*k?” is not appropriate.)

“So what do I do then?”

Some might say this was an inauspicious beginning, in fact the extreme efficiency of Lufthansa had me rebooked and on my way within 20 mins just on a different airline and  different route. My wandering years (2014 – 2018), many of which were spent in India, taught me to ask for help, to trust that there is a solution, and to be open to the solutions that may be presented.  I am glad that even after 6 years living the land of organisation, timekeeping, and precision (Switzerland) I can still have faith in the process of traveling.

For me traveling is a practice of vulnerability. I will often be in situations I don’t fully understand, in places that are alien to me. I like to travel because it is also a practice in humility, I am in a different culture and I intend to try to be respectful and behave appropriately. Professionally I am used to being the person guiding or leading, when I travel I enjoy being independent, observing before acting, being curious about what is ‘normal’ here

I remember my first time in India, very quickly I became comfortable with being stared at, being other, being different. And I found that the simple act of smiling was almost always reflected back and all of that vanished to being just two human animals looking at each other.

When I boarded the first flight on Thursday I was smiling generally and happened to catch the eye of a teenager who was settling into her seat.

“Oh do I need to move?” they said.

“not at all,” I laughed “I was just smiling”

They smiled back and laughed.

Smiling is infectious, and when I am feeling myself it is something I do a lot. Luckily I am feeling very grounded in myself as I cross approximately 9000Km, taking a total of 22 hours door to door to see my teacher and come home to the land of Sadhus and Saints.

Notes: Shout out to the airline staff who didn’t have a vegan meal on-board and so gave me all the fruit they could find.