The middle class and high fives

One of the nice things about visiting a country that has an emerging middle class, is that you can meet tourists from the same country. While I was traveling in Africa or even South East Asia, the only other travelers were from out of the country. One of the ways a traveler can tell if there is an emerging middle class, is if your are being asked to pose in photos while at famous sites.
While Jessi and I were at the Taj Mahal, we were part of the scenery for many of the Indians visiting from the rest of the country. Of course, no one in Agra (the city of the Taj) would want to take a photo of a foreign tourist, they see them all the time.
After posing in a dozen photos with individuals and families visiting, I started to want more. The whole process started to feel a little transactional. The family comes up with the camera, often times right after they had seen someone else take a picture with us, and point to the camera and then my face. After the picture is snapped, they walk away.
There was one group of 6 boys and each of them wanted an individual picture with Jessi and I. The funny thing was that they each wanted to wear the same hat in the picture. So one would sit next to us, his friend would take a picture, then he would quickly get up and exchange the camera for a hat the newly photographed model was wearing. Seeing this transaction take place time after time for six teenage boys seemed a bit surreal.
This was the experience where I decided to make something happen. I decided on high fives. Why not engage in the unique American ritual of high fives after taking a picture, or a snap as folks seemed to call it?
Many of the people did not know what to do when I put in my hand up in the high five motion. After I put my hand up for the high five and got strange looks, I had, what I can only describe, as cultural microshock. A brief and embodied realization that I was in a different culture. I had given thousands of high fives in my life. To put my hand out there and have it hang was, was hard to describe. Dispite people wearing Nike shoes and taking snaps with Sony cameras, the high five was still an alien practice. I had to demonstrate with Jessi and within a few seconds the high five was properly executed. In the hot sun I started imagining myself as the Johnny Appleseed of high fives. As the white marble reflected the hot noon time sun towards my brain, I could envision Indian tourists going back to their homes and giving high fives. How far could it go?

High fives in the boardrooms of Wirpo and Tata corporation?
You may now high five the bride.
The leaders of Pakistan and India solidifying a peace deal with a jumping high five?

It really was hot that day.

Intercultural Tip: Children approach the unknown with a sense of playfulness. Adopting this approach will help you to create new categories and ways of knowing . At the very least, it will foster a sense of humility towards the unknown.