Took a flight this morning back to Chennai, a sprawling, fast paced world metropolis. Waiting to board the plane, I realized I was the only "non Indian" in the quiet waiting area. But one of my seatmates on the hour long trip was an Indian woman from South Africa. Her great grandfather had migrated from Tamil Nadu (she still speaks some Tamil) and she comes back to visit from time to time in part, she said, "because the shopping is so good." And my other seatnate (three abreast but we all liked to talk) was an Indian living in Malayasia whose grandfather had migrated from Kerala. He had come to spend some time with a friend who had "moved back" after a generation. A pilot for Malayasia Airlines, he commented critically on the bumpiness of our approach to the city. I was by far not the only "foreigner" on the flight...I just happened to look more Norweigan than most.
