“If I were a salesman, I would try to sell travel to other people, because there's a whole world out there for people to experience,” Shane Duckworth says, his hands wrapped around a hot cup of traditional Indian Chai.
    
Shane, an engineer by profession, unwittingly began his slide into international experiences as he sat in a plane destined for New Delhi, India. Sitting next to him was his best friend Ravi, who had immigrated to Canada from India at a young age and was returning to India for his upcoming wedding. Shane, having known Ravi for over two years, had heard much about India, and could barely contain his excitement as the plane shuddered to a stop outside the hectic New Delhi airport.
    
After weaving through customs and out of the airport, Shane stopped dead as he was forced into pure pandemonium. The air smelled heavily of sewage, diesel fuel, and spice-heavy curry. People pushed and shoved their way through a massive throng of people, cars, and various farm animals. Ravi guided Shane through the chaos to a taxi, where they caught a ride to a local guesthouse. From here, for a week, Shane and Ravi traveled around northwest India before catching a train to Varanasi, where Ravi was to be married.
    
Once in Varanasi, Shane was warmly welcomed into Ravi's family. They fed him strange, new foods, and he drank copious amounts of a spice-laden tea called “chai,” which literally means “tea” in Hindi. By the time Ravi's wedding arrived, Shane had fallen in love with the people and the culture of India, not to mention the food. The wedding was a cacophony of music, lights, and color. Only the groom wore white, while his bride was clothed in gold-trimmed deep red. After a full day of wedding festivities, Shane and Ravi's sisters decorated the room with strings of brightly-colored flowers. Afterward, Ravi's sisters—in broken English—told Shane of a joke they were going to play on their brother, with Shane as the tool. They dressed up Shane in Ravi's wife's wedding dress and layered his face with makeup before pulling the veil over the unwelcome surprise. They positioned Shane on the bed, dimmed the lights, and left to get Ravi. Soon after the door swung open and Ravi entered the room. He approached the bed and lifted the veil, revealing the clown-like monstrosity beneath. Shane managed to plant one kiss on Ravi's cheek before Ravi ran out of the room, cursing his sisters. Needless to say, Shane almost lost his best friend that night.

Shane dressed as Ravi's wife

    
After returning from India, Shane was still fired up and continued to travel—many times to the Philippines, to Nepal and other places. He's looking forward to a trip next year to China and Tibet.

Shane Duckworth (Left) chatting with a Philippine local.

    
International experience has imbued Shane with a deep appreciation for the diversity in the world, and has also made him open to experiencing new and sometimes strange things. He has developed a deep interest in people about what they do and why they do it without religious or cultural judgment.
    
“It's like being a baby again! Everything is new. New smells, new tastes, new sights, new sounds. Everything,” says Shane as he talks about India. “...It occurred to me then that perhaps no matter how different the culture, people still enjoy – at a basic level – some of the same things that build communities. On the whole, my interactions with people from other cultures has really shaped my appreciation of people with different understandings of the world, as well as blessing me with the joy of trying to understand what makes other cultures 'tick,'” he finishes, taking the final sip from his now-drained cup of chai.

Jackson Duckworth is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Shane Duckworth