A Cross between a Celebrity and a Circus Freak

That pretty much sums me up here in Orissa. Apart from the other volunteers, I haven't come across many foreigners and I stand out a mile. Bike riders turn around as they pass, heads stick out of car windows, sometimes people actually stop in their tracks or walk backwards to get a proper look! I get at least one "Hi, Hello" for every 10 metres I walk. I can't say its surprising, I got a shock when I first saw a photo of myself with a bunch of Indians - like some otherworldly creature dropped from the sky into a land of small tanned people.

"Larry the Fox doesn't feel so clever now" - this design is on a t-shirt of mine from Threadless.com, I can relate to poor Larry at the moment

I do my best to ignore the staring, I even try to appreciate my new-found attention, but it's the mornings that get to me. Normally I like to pretend I'm invisible until I'm fully awake. This is accepted and understood amongst London commuters, but no chance here. As soon as I step out of my gate in the morning, still sleepy and non sociable, I'm hit with sunshine, horns honking, people nudging eachother and staring and I just want to hide! But then I go along on my commute to work - past the live chicken shop, the man selling coconuts on his bike, a couple of cows meandering through the traffic.. - and I can't help thinking it's a nice change from the 205 or the Northern Line, so I guess the stares are a small price to pay.