an american in delhi

Not as romantic sounding as "An American in Paris," but it'll do. I'm currently sitting in the American Library, and I'm the only American here. I was not expecting that. I was sort of expecting that I would flash my American passport and my New York driver's license and would just be waved through, but I was at security for a good ten minutes and had to unpack my bag and let the security guard examine all of my belongings. It became quickly frustrating, but I guess that's what I get for assuming security would be lax for an American. I was also just not expecting how crowded this place is. All of the seats at all of the tables are occupied, and if you go through the stacks, you'll find people - mainly students, about my own age - sitting on the floor on any unoccupied floor space.

But it's quiet, despite the dozens and dozens of people. There's CNN playing on a flat-screen TV, and I haven't seen CNN for over two months now. There's a picture of Barack Obama on the wall, holding a book and imploring you to "READ." There's a marble bust of some white man on a nearby bookshelf, and the color scheme is a comforting red, white and blue. I also just discovered the DVD section, stocked with some really classic American titles including "Brigadoon," "Jurassic Park" and "1776." So, like, that could prove to be a dangerous development.

This place simultaneously feels very familiar but entirely strange. I really think that I'm the only American in the American Library in Delhi, India. Globalization, man. That's a thing.