A couple of weeks ago, on a sunny, long four day weekend, I walked to a nearby Walgreens to buy a six-pack and a bottle opener (Gotta have the necessities!).
At the check-out counter, an Indian woman was ringing up my items, not really paying attention to me; and I wasn't really paying attention to her either. But when she looked up at me, she did a bit of a double-take. She pointed at her own nose ring and said with a Punjabi accent, "You look pretty now!"
I was shocked at her comment, as I wasn't expecting that, but genuinely smiled and said "Thank you!"
My day was a lil brighter because of this stranger's kind words..
Years ago, when I started thinking about getting a nose ring as a college freshman, I looked up the significance of the nose ring in Indian culture, as I knew they were prominent with Indian women.
I read that not only were nose rings considered a thing of beauty, but they were placed in the left nostril as a means of good luck for easy child birth.
Now, I don't know about the child birth part, and I will not be finding out the truth behind this superstition any time soon, but it was nice to have something as simple as my nose ring recognized by a woman from the culture known for having them. And the culture I researched before getting it done. I wanted to make sure I was getting it placed on the correct side, with meaning, as opposed to just getting a hole punched into my face in any random place.
Anywho, this incident just crossed my mind as I sat here studying and I wanted to share it. I really don't have any words to further describe why this thing left a mental mark on me, but it did..
Get into different cultures. Being able to understand and identify with others who you thought were strangers beforehand is really quite satisfying and thought provoking.
We are all different, yet all the same, really.
~Ash
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