Move over Angelina Jolie...

So yesterday we hopped on a second class train from Ajmer to Udaipur. The total trip was estimated to take about five hours. I have to admit that when we boarded the train and I found myself sitting on a bench with four other people, I was not amused. First of all, the second class non air-conditioned trains are like cattle cars for people. Second of all, there were no meals on this one. And lastly, the seats did not recline. But, of course the journey turned into an adventure that I will remember forever.

It turns out that half of our train car was one family of about 15 people. It was definitely awkward at first because, per usual, when we sat down people stared at us like we were an endangered species. But, after twenty minutes the entire family adopted us and we were playing with their kids as if we have known them for years. There was one man in our car that wasn't related to anyone, but we brought him into the family. We called him "professor" because he wore glasses and was a physics teacher. Halfway through the trip, people from other cars were coming over to watch how much fun we all were having together. The kids were listening to our iPods and teaching themselves English with our dictionaries. The Professor was reading our Lonely Planet guide. The adults were feeding us biscuits and chai and laughing at the pictures we were taking of their children.

Move over Angelina Jolie...