Foreigner, Slightly Lesser

I have been back in Belgium now for a few days, and few things definitely stick out upon my return.

In the first place, boy, there sure are a lot of white people here. I did not realize how accustomed to not seeing any other white people I had become. Being virtually one of only a handful in all of Tamil Nadu as far as I could tell, it had just become a part of life for me. Now, suddenly, I am surrounded by them. However, what is most apparent is not necessarily the color, but also the size. In short, people are big here, but it is not the height, as the average Indian was surprisingly much taller than my uninformed preconception had been, but bone structure and just sheer volume. Everyone’s faces and hands and torso are just bigger here.

There is indeed though a growing, and very visible problem in Indian among the female population of obesity, and a high incidence of sugar diabetes is on the rise, most likely due to the insane amount of high-fructose sweets that Indians consume on a daily basis. However, even with that, the sheer body structure that I see here did not exist for the most part in India, and suddenly, having felt rather “large” for the past ten weeks, I know feel rather “medium build” for the first time in my life. That is in large part to the fact that I have finally, after daily exercise and changed lifestyle, returned to my college swimming weight. But, twenty years ago, I was big, now I don’t feel that way, despite being the same weight.

In addition to big, white people, perhaps the biggest culture shock has been the sheer volume of wealth that is apparent here. People seem to have money falling out of the ears here. Taking a walk through Antwerp last evening, I could not believe how many incredibly expensive new boutiques have cropped up, and that every restaurant was packed with people, eating, drinking, and eating more and drinking more. When a coffee now costs me what a very fancy meal was costing in Madurai, it is hard not to do some quick mental calculations and be left somewhat in a daze. I have spent more in the first few days than I think I did in the entire first month in India. That is not complaining, but just a sheer fact of life. This is an incredibly wealthy society.

 What is perhaps the most difficult things to overlook is how quiet and CALM it is here. Last evening, Antwerp was packed to the brim. Because of a late summer feel in the air, everyone was out on the streets and trying to catch the last warmish evening before winter really hits (which it is threatening to do today as I am writing in a very cozy cafe). But, despite the streets being wall to wall people, I could not get over how incredibly still it was. It was as if I had suddenly gone deaf and was experiencing what should have been a plethora of noise, it was silent, freakishly so. I was reminded of the scene in the film Immortal Beloved when  Gary Oldman as Beethoven is watching the Ninth Symphony being performed in total silence while all around him is the explosion of music and song.

Being surrounded by Flemish is also weird. Because I had been on hyper-alert with trying to pick up any Tamil and/or Hindi, I am catching myself surprised at not realized that I am listening to a “foreign” language, but rather one that seems thankfully familiar and accessible on a level that surpasses what I have ever had here.

There are many things that are strange about being back “home” in Antwerp. It is a wonderful city, and at its best has some of the most stunning architecture in all of Europe, if not the world on mere street levels.

The opulence of the evenings here is dazzling when the shops are illuminated and people are strolling leisurely about. It is easy to forget that less than 100 hours ago, I was sitting in the Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Airport waiting to board my flight to London Heathrow, en route to re-integrate myself back into the European society, albeit as an American abroad, but certainly a monumental degree less as a foreigner than I have been since the end of August in India.

And, in the blink of an eye, India passes,  as if in a dream...