Where is Rajeev?

Today I was supposed to meet my friend Rajeev for a little outing. For the past few months, Rajeev and I have been meeting about once every week. Sometimes it’s just tea and conversation (he is trying to improve his English), and sometimes it’s a small event like movie or some sight-seeing. Today we were going to see some waterfalls; we’d been planning this for several weeks, and I had gotten pretty excited about it.

The meeting was set for 10:00 at the Hotel Periyar, our typical meeting spot. When I showed up ready for yet another adventure, Rajeev was not yet there. It was a little early, so I sat down to wait. Rajeev still wasn’t there by 10:15, but, since he has gained a reputation for being the tardy type, I didn’t worry too much about it. 20 minutes later, however, Rajeev was still not there, and I was beginning to get upset. I can tolerate a little lateness, as it is part of the “Indian Stretchable Time” code of conduct, but 35 minutes was the latest he’d ever been. And frankly, I was getting tired of people staring at me in hopes that, by searching my face, they’d figure out my purpose sitting in that lobby.

At 10:45, I finally decided to call him, but he didn’t answer his phone. At that point, there was nothing left for me to do but go to the college or back to Chacko Homes to spend the day some other way. As I walked back in that direction, I was angry – a testament, I thought, to the fact that, even after a year in India, I’m still quite an American. But, by the time I reached the college, I had formulated a new plan for my day and was ready to enact it with my no-problem attitude – a testament, I thought, to the fact that, after a year in India, I’m a changed American.