An Overnight Celebrity

Brian and I went to the Golconda Fort today. It's a massive place -- 7km around (roughly 4 sq km for the non-geeks out there who didn't do the math themselves). Between a partial tour and walking to the top of the hill, we probably spent a bit over 2 hours there. In that time, I think we had five different groups come up and take pictures with us and at least another dozen ask us our names and where we're from, welcome us to India, and shake our hands.

We then headed back to the Old City to walk around and explore the shops again. This time, we got off the beaten path a bit more. The same thing continued with random people coming up and introducing themselves. Brian and I were both pretty engaging. We posed for everyone's pictures, talked with people, asked them questions. It feels strange to stand out so much. Though, the attention is all positive, which is nice.

At the end of our shopping in Old City, we sought out this place called Hotel Shabad, a restaurant recommended by my guide book and some co-workers at Amazon. It was phenomenal... definitely the best meal I've had in India.

As we finished up, a group of three students visiting Hyderabad sat down at the table next to us. They stared at us for a while before one came over and introduced himself. We said hello and exchanged names before he went back to his table. Brian, who's been very anxiously seeking out a "talk with the locals," suggested that we go over and sit down with them. Wanting him to enjoy his time in India, I hesitantly followed him to their table.

After a bit of commotion, we sat down and the five of us talked... sort of. They didn't speak very good English. We figured out they were students from some place towards Mumbai, that they were enjoying Hyderabad, and that they wanted to visit America. That was about the extent of our five minute conversation. They also took pictures of us.

I get the whole "wanting to interact with locals" thing. But, forcing the interaction seems a bit strange and disrespectful to me. I guess Brian got something out of it: a "real" conversation. And I think the students got something out of it: a photo with a bunch of Americans. But, I definitely felt like we could have left the interaction at the initial hellos before we made a scene switching tables, moving chairs around, etc... I can't help but fear that others in the restaurant might have been turned off by the behavior.

I feel like there's a fine line to walk here, a line I've certainly crossed myself at times. It's important to treat people as people. Part of that is being open, engaging, and friendly. There's a lot of misunderstanding in this world, much of which I believe can be solved with things as simple as a smile or the word "hello."

The other part is realizing that they're not attractions on your sightseeing tour. It's one thing to engage with someone because of some shared moment. It's another to do it because you're trying to gain some experience for yourself.