GOD I love people who say, "Eh!"

So I know this is going to sound like a stupid, dim-witted thing to say but I never really understood why people of the same race stuck together and felt like they had a bond.I mean, I respected it and I accepted it, but I never really quite got why black people always feel like other blacks are their brothas and whatnot. I'm sure it's because I am a little white tenth generation American who considered her cultural education to be truly complete when she learned both the Macarena and the Electric Slide. So like I said, I never really understood the whole "brotherhood" complex.
Until now.
There is something about seeing another Caucasian person when you've been living in a village and traveling on local buses and you haven't seen another white face in ages. You immediately are drawn to them in hopes that they might share a little bit of whatever it is that you've left behind or whatever it is that you are used to feeling. It's always a bit of a let down when you realize they are actually Swiss or German, but yesterday I met my first Canadian!
Her name was Christina and she was fantastic, she was from Otawaaaaa and thankfully she only spoke English, not french (hehe, inside joke but I had to slip it in there). She was on a tour through India and Nepal and they had just come from Chitwan (side note: Locals pronounce it like Chi-tone, tourists say Chit-wAAn. It's funny) and she liked Nepal way more than India. Another guy on her tour was from Eagle so I talked to him for a while about Colorado. They were both totally shocked when I pulled out my nalgene and took a swig ("You drink the WATER!!") but then I assured them that i carried a steri-pen in my purse. I do not have intestines of steel.
I was so nice talking to people who were on a first-tongue basis with English and telling them all about living here. I never wanted to leave them, but naturally soon my bus driver was yelling "Bitikaiiiii!!!!" so I had to leave them behind.But I was smiling the rest of the bus ride. It's moments like that that you are searching for when you approach a similar face... even though sometime they just look at you and say "spraken se deutsche?"
So now I can say that I have a totally new respect for the different bonds people share from culture. Next time I'm rolling through the hood and a brotha flashes me the black power fist I can respond appropriately. Lol.