indian hospitality

the other day we were invited over to a friend's house. irfan is a really tiny indian dude with a really huge heart and sense of hospitality. he wouldn't stop feeding us the minute we stepped in the house, giving us his bed to sit on, fetching more pillows, refilling drinks, showing us his magic tricks (and even revealing the answers!), and introducing us to his whole extended family.



we were lucky to have two of our friends that speak hindi and english there to translate a bit--the resounding thing i was told was "i can't believe you're married, you're so young!" then i asked what age they usually get married. and they said 18 or 19. and i told them i was 24. and they didn't believe me. at all.



i feel like there's a lot to say about the night, but i'll just say this: the indian culture of hospitality is something i would love to bring back to the states with me, even in a small way. rarely have i felt so welcome in an almost stranger's house.