It's happened..

Tonight marks the first time that I exchanged phone numbers with a man who is not black.

For me this is a totally new and refreshing experience.  So this evening I was actually helping this guy find something to wear (I have a part-time retail job).   Somehow we started talking about his job as a flight attendant for some airline that goes back and forth to Nigeria, then at one point he asked me where I was from and I was like, New York.  Then he was like, no where's your family "from from".  So I was like - well my mother's side is from Barbados and my father's side is from North Carolina.  So then he asks me to try and guess where I think he's from.  I jokingly told him I wasn't gonna guess because I didn't want to be accused of profiling anyone.  In my head I was thinking he's either Hispanic or Middle Eastern, but I wasn't sure.  So he ended up telling me he was originally from Bangladesh.  Early on in the convo I surprised myself by wondering about him in a more than friendly sense.  A fleeting thought of "I wonder what it would be like to date him because he's a pretty cool guy" dashed through my head, but I quickly brought myself back to reality.  So then as we talked for a good half hour and he wasn't leaving, I started thinking to myself, wait - is he interested in me?

So, being the unseasoned interracial dater that I am, I kept brushing the thought off because I just knew that even if he was interested he probably wouldn't ask for my number... I mean that's been my experience in the past with a few White guys I worked with at NBC who were obviously interested.  It was like they couldn't muster up the courage to actually ask me out because I was Black and they were White.  And I don't blame them, because back then the thought of them asking me out or even kissing them honestly freaked me out.

Well this guy actually did ask for my number.  And I obliged.  So this evening once I got home, he text'd me and we've been going back and forth with little get to know you questions.  So once again, I've met someone interesting just as I am about to leave for my year abroad.  This time, even if it doesn't work out I'm thrilled that I've expanded my mind to men of other ethnicities because up until very recently I wasn't looking at anyone but Black men (Bollywood deserves all the credit).  A while back I blogged about my newfound interest in men from the Middle East and parts of Asia like India and Pakistan.  Once again the Universe is bringing things full circle.  It's new, scary, refreshing, intriguing, and I'm pleasantly curious.  Here's to meeting many more fascinating men from all over the world...