Yesterday was maybe the longest Thursday of my life, there is also a possibility that it was the most amazing day I have had thus far. I still walk into speaking situations with people that I don't know with some fear, specially non stutterers, I always give myself about ten minutes to allow myself to feel awkward in the situation. I try not to fight it, because the truth is, that sometimes meeting people is a difficult process. All this to say that I arrived in India today...yesterday for those of you still in the states. I arrived, met two other people that stutter, Dhruv...and Reuban who is a new friend, specially after the experiences that we've had thus far. We sight saw, did some market shopping, ate some amazing Indian food, all the things expected when you go to a new country. But Dhruv is apart of a Toastmasters group here in Mumbai. Toastmaster is an organization that helps people work on being better public speakers, I went to another Toastmasters in Israel that was specifically for people who stutter. Anyway we went to a party held by a Toastmasters participant, who was actually an American, stationed in Mumbai for business. The Partygoers were all Indian and all fluent (non- stutterers).
In situations like this I always feel out of place, "what do I say, how will we connect, will we have anything to talk about." I am ecstatic to say that, the real problem was finding an appropriate time to leave the party because we have an excursion to TISA (The Indian Stuttering Association) Conference the next day. While at this party, I advertised to everyone I spoke to, and let the conversations go from there. The night ended with some dancing and a game of Freeze Tag Improv...which I played and got a big laugh out of my Ms. Cleo psychic impression. One thing I am learning as I travel around the world is that people are the same everywhere. We allow things to divide us, but we are all the same, we all want the same things, and this brought more comfort to me than any book, or quote Ive ever read or recited to myself. Oneness is a powerful thing.
p.s.
after the Toastmasters party, we headed back to Dhruvs apartment and there was a huge festival going on outside. It was Gandhi's birthday coupled with another celebration, but people were dancing to Indian music, women were beautifully dressed in Sari's and everyone was having a good time. We decided to check it out. Little did we know we would end up dancing for another hour. Little girls ran up to me asking me about my hair, I enjoyed this because it was done out of curiosity, and pure interest, we took pictures, shared stories, laughed, and I learned a lot of Indian dances. This only solidified my previous statement, that we are all one.
In situations like this I always feel out of place, "what do I say, how will we connect, will we have anything to talk about." I am ecstatic to say that, the real problem was finding an appropriate time to leave the party because we have an excursion to TISA (The Indian Stuttering Association) Conference the next day. While at this party, I advertised to everyone I spoke to, and let the conversations go from there. The night ended with some dancing and a game of Freeze Tag Improv...which I played and got a big laugh out of my Ms. Cleo psychic impression. One thing I am learning as I travel around the world is that people are the same everywhere. We allow things to divide us, but we are all the same, we all want the same things, and this brought more comfort to me than any book, or quote Ive ever read or recited to myself. Oneness is a powerful thing.
p.s.
after the Toastmasters party, we headed back to Dhruvs apartment and there was a huge festival going on outside. It was Gandhi's birthday coupled with another celebration, but people were dancing to Indian music, women were beautifully dressed in Sari's and everyone was having a good time. We decided to check it out. Little did we know we would end up dancing for another hour. Little girls ran up to me asking me about my hair, I enjoyed this because it was done out of curiosity, and pure interest, we took pictures, shared stories, laughed, and I learned a lot of Indian dances. This only solidified my previous statement, that we are all one.
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