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"One time in India, I went to set up a program through our NGO. A guy who was in northern India at the time was about to fly down to meet me to set up and be the person that was situated there for the year, at a really small grassroots NGO—a husband and wife ran it, they were in their 40s or 50s, they had two daughters, one was away and one lived with them, and she was probably in her late teens. So, when I went to go visit them, I had never met them before, I was alone, I stayed at their house—which is actually attached to the same complex as their NGO—and I stayed in their home. There were all these weird ways the home was situated—like, there were no locks on the doors, but it was part of the culture to stay in the home and it’s very inviting.
One night, the power went out and the mom and daughter left to buy candles, so I was left home alone with the guy. I had been there for like a week and he was always kinda like, (deep voice) 'hey, hey,' like he would wear tank tops and was a little over weight and was probably in his 50s. He was surprised I was traveling alone, and surprised I was the person he needed to negotiate with—he just wouldn’t ever take me seriously.
He came into the room I was staying in, unannounced—just like, barged in. You know, the power had gone out, but I had my computer on and I was working, and he sat down and pulled up a chair, and was like, 'let’s get to know each other better.'
I’m 5’10”, he was maybe 5’4”, so I could honestly take him, but, ugh I'm getting goosebumps. So he was like, 'let’s get to know each other a little better,' and I was said, 'okay,' and kind of scooted my chair back, and was like, posture away, keys in hand. And he proceeded to tell me that he’s, 'been so depressed,' and, 'it’s so nice that there’s an American around because [your] way of thinking is open minded and liberal, and [you’re] used to so many different ways of life and drinking, having friends who are boys and girls...'
And then he said something, which is funny in retrospect but is really f***ed up.
'You know I haven’t had sex with my wife since my second daughter was born.'
'How old is your second daughter?'
'Seventeen. And it’s just really nice to tell someone that, and it’s nice I can come to you and have a conversation. If you ever get lonely, you’re here alone, you can come talk to me.'
So that night, when the power came back on, I emailed my business partner and said, 'dude I’m leaving,' and he said, 'GET THE F*** OUT OF THERE.' So I called a taxi, grabbed my stuff, and was like, 'see ya, we’re not doing this anymore,' and I just drove straight into town and said, (mock crying voice) 'do you have a room for me?' I was so scared. So scared."