The World Of Nationalities

This isn't exactly a story, a short and humorous account of something that happened recently instead.

 

My Dad and I finally identified the yellow building, after hunting for some car space. The yellow building was the place to renew my Indian visa. Yes, my parents are tainted with all the issues concerning an American daughter. And this was one of them.  Unsure of what to expect, Dad and I entered the building. And at that moment, I knew I could happily spend any length of time here.

 

There were people from ALL over the world. And somehow, I was extremely enthusiastic about guessing each person’s origin. It was a challenge, however, ‘cause people chose to hide their passports. Nonetheless, it was fascinating.

 

My eyes were caught by a Japanese family first, probably tourists. The father, talking very amicably with someone on the phone, the adorable kid in two braids, engrossed in her “glitzy” PSP. And the woman’s activities are what interested me the most. She was reading a Japanese book, from back and also, reorganizing her handbag. And out came, numerous tiny books and planners-all oh-so-colorful and her hair was done in an extremely fancy way.

 

A few handsome Italian men sat in a corner, chatting in fluent Italian. However, one of them seemed to be extremely engrossed in cleaning his nose, using various hand positions.

 

This tiny Chinese man was hilarious. He was extremely clumsy and somehow, lacked a folder to store all his papers. He kept shuffling around with them and struggled to flip through his ‘Chinese-English Oxford Dictionary’ every time he opened his mouth to talk, all at the same time.

 

We also watched a student from Mauritius getting deported. Apparently, the college he claimed to be studying in was not in the directory and hence, did not exist. We watched silently as he tried fighting his case but the stern judgment was passed �" “Deported. Next!”

 

This funny French toddler was enjoying most of the attention in the room. He refused to keep his pants on while his exasperated parents continued the frustrating attempt to convince him to keep them on.

 

I soon realized that nearly a dozen people in there were from Iraq. Maroon passports, starting from back and a fancy symbol inscribed on the front.  I also marveled at the skin of a Cambodian citizen. I had seen dark people but his skin? It was dark, in a different way and it looked so smooth. The whites of his eyes seemed a definite contrast to his skin color.

 

And so, that’s how I’d spent a good nine hours sitting on the sane seat in the sane room. Just by observing people. Although by the end of the day, I was thoroughly exhausted, it truly is an experience worth sharing.

Author's Note

This is my first attempt at humor and I'd appreciate it if you stressed on that while reviewing this.

Otherwise, I'm entirely open to all other suggestions and criticism.

Reviews

[writ rajat]

fantastic story with great thought of nationality i am also belong to india

[writ rajat]

i never read this fantastic story since i born i really admire your story by heart

[thepurpleirises]

Appreciate the enthusiasm. Thanks. :)

[James Winter]

A light, nice piece of writing; I too like observing others and perhaps that's why I couldn't stop reading with curiosity and smile at your many descriptions. I like how you gave each person/family their own paragraph. It made it easy to read as the structure catches on quickly.

Another thing I like is how you have no judgement to your voice; you're not saying anything cruel or trying to demean anyone, rather you just plainly state what you observe whether it be a beautiful woman or a man furiously cleaning his nose. That's a nice way to make the reader feel comfortable; I came to trust you as someone who didn't judge from appearance but rather sought others with curiosity.

If you wanted to keep this light-hearted, I would only suggest to perhaps rethink the part with the student who was deported; we all know these situations occur, but they can make people uncomfortable to think about, especially if anyone has ever been or know someone who's been in a situation where they were denied residency. You touch upon an emotional subject and though there's nothing wrong with that, it just seems a bit odd in an else calm short story.

A lovely read though, thanks for sharing!

[thepurpleirises]

That definitely was the idea. To just state what actually happened, the stark truth.
I appreciate the way you believe that I'm not too judgmental, at least by appearance.

Perhaps you are right about the student, but like I said, I wanted to bring out the entire picture, with a touch of humor as well.

Altogether, thanks for the review! Means a lot. :)

[James Winter]

I understand - I appreciate when things are kept realistic, it was merely if you wanted to make it purely a humorous piece that it would be a thing to consider. But it works like this as well!

[Talal Hussain]

Thats a wonderful write sumedha...i can assure you that you are good at humor..keep the good work going :-)

[thepurpleirises]

Thanks so much.

For appreciating it and the review. :)