HER
My first impression of her was that she was very pretty, but a little ditzy. She had heavy lidded eyes the size of tea cup saucers which was further accented by copiously applied eyeliner and mascara. Normally, that much amount of eye makeup would seem too much and unflattering, but on her it worked beautifully. She had black wavy hair that flowed like a silky river all down to her waist. I could smell spicy perfume as well which was different from the sweet flowery perfume that most girls wear. By all means she looked like an Arabian princess and a very pretty one at that.
The ditzy part came a bit later. She seemed to be living in a world of her own and chuckled at her own words far too many. She would say random comments such as; "I come from Dae-gu city but I don't like daegu fish." At a different place and time I might have found her oddness enchanting. She reminded me a lot of Luna Lovegood, a character from Harry Potter, who I have always liked. But as her study partner, I was constantly annoyed by her general bemusement and out-of-this-world attitude. All I wanted to do was study (which was very unlikely of me) and here she was making random remarks about the dryness of the air or how ginkgo nuts are an amazing delicacy.
Then there was a day that will take years for me to forget. It was the day after a long and trying study session discussing the environmental problems that India is faced with. Yet again, I was slightly disgruntled, as our session was interrupted a few times with her insights about environment and Mother Earth ("We are her children") While packing our bags, I casually mentioned that I have been to India before and I did not enjoy the experience because I found the food was not to my taste which she remarked that she loved the food there. "Oh, have you gone to India as well?" "Yes, I actually spent about six months by myself in India." I was flabbergasted to hear that. Six months in India? All by herself without any family or friends? I could not believe what I was hearing. But there was more. "I lived in a monastery as a monk to do some self-contemplation. I actually shaved my head and everything."
Never would I have imagined her to do something so brave and unique like that. To spend six months in a foreign country (notoriously unsafe for women) alone and at a monastery for the purpose of achieving self -contemplation at that was something I could never do. The fact that she was not a Buddhist but went there to achieve self-contemplation actually impressed me even more. I wanted to ask her what motivated her to do so, but stopped myself from doing so feeling it might be too private which I have always regretted secretly. Even till this day, I am curious by what motivated her to do. The level of self-dedication was something that left me in awe.
The funny thing was that she was still the same person I was annoyed at before I knew about her experience in India. But now, her quizzical remarks seemed like insights with great depth. They did not bother me as much as before. Nothing had changed since I had known her but the way I viewed her completely changed once I knew of her experience. If I hadn't known about her stay in India, I would have kept thinking her as a queer person. And that is why after that day, I really try not to judge people rashly based on their actions.
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