You should always talk to people on planes

because you just never know what may come of it.

On my 6am flight home from Kolkata (where I:
-walked through the red light district
-visited the PR girls' home
-hung out at the PR vocational center where RLD ladies make journals, bags, and quilts out of old saris to earn a living and get discipled
-spent time with some awesome dedicated passionate people
-obsessed over a bakery called "Kookie Jar")

I sat in between Ali and a 60 year old white man. Usually I get so excited when I see a white person in India that I call out, "white person!" But I wasn't in the mood. I thought to myself, I'm not into starting conversations with 60 year old white-but-probably-not-American men right now. So then Ali in her unadulterated friendliness says HEY! I was just rolling my eyes when the conversation got good.

An excerpt from Ali's blog:
"On the way home we took a 2 hour flight instead of a 20 hour train ride. Praise him. I sat next to a white man, and right before we took off i asked him where he was from. South Africa he said. We chatted a bit and he asked me why i was going to Vijay. I said im not going to Vijay im going to Delhi. He paused. No you're going to Vijay he said. I said No. you're going to Delhi. He then bolted out of his seat and ran off the plane shouting a thank you. Im glad i talked to him. His day could have been very bad. "

So there you have it. Be friendly. Or you or someone else could end up in a Kevin McAlister-like pickle.