Decent Exposure

Once we made our way from civilisation to nature we set up camp and Yoel and I put our clothes in bags where they belong. Yoel’s girlfriend was noticeably nervous so we decided to head straight for the water. Sometimes people need an excuse to strip off and swimming is as good as any. It is funny how people get when they are getting naked in front of others for the first time. It reminds me of watching people go off to war. Except that nudity is far less serious and almost never gets you killed. And war is a horribly unnatural invention of man. Also unlike war, we never pressured Yoel’s girlfriend into anything. She was free to remain as clothed as she wanted for as long as she wanted. She wanted to join us. She just needed the swimming excuse to help her along.

India, a Passage

But as anybody who has ever gone anywhere on business trips can tell you, it is the worst way to see a country. India is huge. I was never going to experience much of it in such a limited time. But spending most of that time at military bases is even worse. Add to that the fact that women in India’s military are few and far between. While Israel has been conscripting women since 1948 India’s military is entirely voluntary. And few women seem to want to volunteer. They are most likely not very welcome either.