My time in Detroit had come to a close. I woke up in the morning on Sunday and finished my packing. I did a final sweep of the hotel room to make sure I hadn’t left anything important behind in addition to putting a few dollars on the nightstand for the housekeeping. I went downstairs to the lobby and indulged in sausage and eggs with coffee (I didn’t see any of my fellow attendees around, so I felt as though I could get away with eating meat out in the open).
All throughout the week, the Gurdwara had arranged for taxi drivers to pick us up at the hotel and get us to class. As I didn’t see any of my classmates around I had simply assumed that the arrangement of free cab-rides to and from was no longer an option. So I had the hotel call a local company for me and waited patiently for it to show up. The man who showed had no idea what I was talking about when I gave him the name and address of the Gurdwara. He insisted on smoking in the car and worst of all, sat in front of the building after dropping me off doing paperwork and puffing on his pipe (most Gurdwara-s have signs posted asking visitors not to smoke or consume alcohol on the premises). Needless to say, I felt a few degrees of humiliation. Fortunately though, the man left before someone had to ask him to do so.
After the concert, a very nice gentleman taxi-driver offered to take us to the airport. I and one of the performers were and dropped off. I got a very enthusiastic hug from the man (whose name I did not catch) before being sent on my way. It had been a very eventful week, and in some ways a much needed break from the reality of my life at home (my wife and I would be in the process of moving for the second time in one year). I would always be grateful for the effort of my fellow classmates to make an outsider feel welcome. It was a profoundly enlightening experience both musically and culturally, best of all, now it is an annual event and I am very much looking forward to next year’s retreat and camp.
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