I have heard that you really see what people are like when they are stressed or going through a hard time. If that is true, I have a lot of room for growth....
Ryan's brother Rhett came to India for the last month to visit us and of course we had to take him to see the Taj Mahal. It IS one of the 7 wonders of the world. We don't have the best track record in Agra. Ryan and I have learned that touristy cities and especially touristy areas are not our favorite places to visit. Everything is overpriced, you can't trust the people will take you where you ask them to take you(or at least not without first stopping at their friend's shop.), ect. Anyways, Agra has just not had the best memories for us. The Taj...AWESOME, the city...not our favorite.
However, this time our trip was so much more enjoyable. Travel is much better when you speak the language. We had a great time at the Taj and Agra Fort, enjoyed some great food, and all around had a good time.
UNTIL... the train ride home.
I can't remember all the details and wouldn't share them on my blog anyway, but Ryan and I had gotten in argument. The yucky kind where you feel hurt and mad all at the same time. Rhett had just finished sitting on the steps of the train watching the beauty of India in monsoon season, jamming to his favorite tunes, when a man dressed head to toe in orange gets on the train.
I notice him but don't think much of his arrival. I have seen men dressed like him often and I think he is a Hindu holy man. His presence on the train was neither out of the ordinary or alarming.
After a few minutes, the man in orange stops at our seating area. Our area has two bench seats facing each other big enough for three people to sit comfortably and then across the isle there is another bunk and a bunk above that facing us as well. Everyone is facing everyone, aka everyone sees everything.
I am sitting closest to the isle and the man in orange comes and stands very close to me with his basket. I see money in it, but am trying to avoid eye contact when out of the corner of my eye I see something move in his basket. Then I see black scales and a long tube like animal....it's a snake!!! Let me just pause here. I am not known to have any snake phobias, however the only times I have been around snakes there is always an escape route. Not today. Somehow in about 3 seconds I am on the other side of Ryan and whimpering, "it's a snake, get away, get away." Ryan nicely asks the man to move on. The man does not move on! I am sure he stood there for at least 10 minutes pulling out his snake and asking for money(in reality is was probably less than two minutes, but you know how these things feel). After, what seems like forever, Ryan aggressively stands up yells at the guy, "get out of here" (in Hindi) and all the other men in the bunk take Ryan's side and coax the snake man to move on as they stare at me wide eyed. He finally leaves and I proceed to the farthest corner of the bunk and cry my eyes out and every time I look up, I see Indian men staring at me like I have lost my mind.
Later after I have stopped bawling my eyes out, Rhett asked me if I was really afraid of snakes. Poor guy, after living a month with us in India, I am sure he thinks his brother has the craziest wife on the planet! His biggest disappointment about the whole ordeal was that the snake man moved when Ryan stood up. He was wanting to get all up in the guys face or something with Ryan. Boys are so weird.
I am not sure what the requirements to diagnose yourself with a phobia happen to be, but I am pretty sure I developed one on that train ride. I now hate snake with a passion!
Ryan has a much more elaborate story he has been telling our friends here in Kanpur in Hindi. In his extended, imaginary version he stands up and grabs the snake and throws it out the window declaring, "I would sacrifice my life for you!!" And I, in reply, declare him as my hero. Again, boys are weird.
Ryan's brother Rhett came to India for the last month to visit us and of course we had to take him to see the Taj Mahal. It IS one of the 7 wonders of the world. We don't have the best track record in Agra. Ryan and I have learned that touristy cities and especially touristy areas are not our favorite places to visit. Everything is overpriced, you can't trust the people will take you where you ask them to take you(or at least not without first stopping at their friend's shop.), ect. Anyways, Agra has just not had the best memories for us. The Taj...AWESOME, the city...not our favorite.
However, this time our trip was so much more enjoyable. Travel is much better when you speak the language. We had a great time at the Taj and Agra Fort, enjoyed some great food, and all around had a good time.
UNTIL... the train ride home.
I can't remember all the details and wouldn't share them on my blog anyway, but Ryan and I had gotten in argument. The yucky kind where you feel hurt and mad all at the same time. Rhett had just finished sitting on the steps of the train watching the beauty of India in monsoon season, jamming to his favorite tunes, when a man dressed head to toe in orange gets on the train.
I notice him but don't think much of his arrival. I have seen men dressed like him often and I think he is a Hindu holy man. His presence on the train was neither out of the ordinary or alarming.
After a few minutes, the man in orange stops at our seating area. Our area has two bench seats facing each other big enough for three people to sit comfortably and then across the isle there is another bunk and a bunk above that facing us as well. Everyone is facing everyone, aka everyone sees everything.
I am sitting closest to the isle and the man in orange comes and stands very close to me with his basket. I see money in it, but am trying to avoid eye contact when out of the corner of my eye I see something move in his basket. Then I see black scales and a long tube like animal....it's a snake!!! Let me just pause here. I am not known to have any snake phobias, however the only times I have been around snakes there is always an escape route. Not today. Somehow in about 3 seconds I am on the other side of Ryan and whimpering, "it's a snake, get away, get away." Ryan nicely asks the man to move on. The man does not move on! I am sure he stood there for at least 10 minutes pulling out his snake and asking for money(in reality is was probably less than two minutes, but you know how these things feel). After, what seems like forever, Ryan aggressively stands up yells at the guy, "get out of here" (in Hindi) and all the other men in the bunk take Ryan's side and coax the snake man to move on as they stare at me wide eyed. He finally leaves and I proceed to the farthest corner of the bunk and cry my eyes out and every time I look up, I see Indian men staring at me like I have lost my mind.
Later after I have stopped bawling my eyes out, Rhett asked me if I was really afraid of snakes. Poor guy, after living a month with us in India, I am sure he thinks his brother has the craziest wife on the planet! His biggest disappointment about the whole ordeal was that the snake man moved when Ryan stood up. He was wanting to get all up in the guys face or something with Ryan. Boys are so weird.
I am not sure what the requirements to diagnose yourself with a phobia happen to be, but I am pretty sure I developed one on that train ride. I now hate snake with a passion!
Ryan has a much more elaborate story he has been telling our friends here in Kanpur in Hindi. In his extended, imaginary version he stands up and grabs the snake and throws it out the window declaring, "I would sacrifice my life for you!!" And I, in reply, declare him as my hero. Again, boys are weird.
That sounds ROUGH! Trains in India were super tense for me... I never thought about why, but not having an escape makes sense. Throw a snake in... whew, girl! At least your husband gets to have a hero story! Blessings and prayers!
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