In search of the true meaning…

When people find out I’m going on this adventure, one of the first and most frequent comments made to me is about curry.  “Congrats!  I hope you like curry!”  “That’s great!  You’ll come back smelling like curry.”  “That’s awesome!  You’ll lose so much weight because all they eat is curry.”  Well, as much as I appreciate the ignorance and well-wishing, I plan to be able to answer one of the world’s hardest questions upon my return to Western Civilization.  What is curry?  From what I have gathered from conversation with my Indian friends, my searches on Wikipedia, and readings, it can mean many different things to many different people.  Even in India, dependant of what part of the country you are dining, curry can mean anything from a flavor, to a sauce, to just a vegetable dish.  I will post the pictures and my opinions along this journey to discover  what curry means to me.  I knew watching all of those hours of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern would pay off a little!

Here I go...

Well, the journey begins!  I applied for my passport at the post office and paid extra to have it expedited.  I was supposed to travel to Houston and get it in one day, but I didn’t meet the regulations.  Apparently they’re pretty strict in the good ole’ Department of State.  It was a random turn of events mixed with some comedy of error that had me driving back and forth from Euless to Grand Prairie, and all of the people I came in contact with didn’t have much a sense of humor.  Maybe because they’re government employees (I’m one, but I have sense of humor)?  I’m not sure, but the girl taking my passport pics at CVS was nice.  Did you know that they won’t photoshop out any of your chins for passport photos?  See…I’m already learning so much, and I have more than 11 weeks to departure!  Thanks, Dad, for not taking it personally when I made a comment about how old you are when I called to ask you what year you were born for the passport application!