India - My First Astronaut Venture
India! Jaisalmer, Bangalore, Ledak Valley, Kashmir, Delhi... Growing up, I always wanted to be an astronaut exploring strange new worlds. Working in India may be the closest I get in this life. An ancient culture with dozens of dialects, Gods, and Bollywood movie stars, It is a land of contrast. From intense desert heat to towering Himalayas with highest airport in the world to overflowing cities. 5 Star Taj hotel opulence is side by side with abject poverty where people people live on a mountain of trash, and mothers beg with amputee children in their arms. This is a culture where 30% of the population has no running water and toilets, but very well be the next country to put a human on the moon. And regardless India will be the most populace country in the world by 2050 outpacing China. I rode a camel out into the desert night and watched a young dancer dance around a fire bending over to pick up nails with her eyelids. Cows and cars share the roads.