Are we invisible?

I wonder again, is anyone going to read this or comment about this? In other words, am I invisible to the world? Does it matter what I do? Does anyone even notice when I get clean and nicely shaved the other day? Well, but do I care?

I was reading a book about "dot-com business" and it talked about how you can save money while working. It talked about a guy wearing the same tie for 4 months without ever getting any comment and another guy pocketing the money for lunch and always eating the same, cheapest food available in the restaurant. It said you have to admit that you are invisible to the world. And when I thought about it, I realized there was some truth behind it. No one would even realize if I missed my meals for 5 days or even more in the current society that I live amid Trinity University students. So, I was pretty convinced that I am to some degree invisible.

But then today, I had a lunch with a professor who's currently doing hi-tech research in nanotechnology at Rice University. After the lunch, I had a short personal talk with him and he asked me where I am from. Normally, I would not expect people to know where Nepal is and I can swallow the fact that some adults even raise their eyebrows, trying to say I know you are making fun of my geography knowledge but still I am pretty sure there's no country with the name you just uttered. I explain them that there's a tiny country between India and China. Guess what? They know where Tibet is though. Tibet is not even a country and still it's more popular.

Anyway, when I said I was from Nepal, his eyes lit up, the gleam in his eyes was of excitement than confusion though. A professor doing some hi-tech research would know where Nepal is. He confided that he has a graduate student working in his team, under his supervision who's from Nepal. I mean, I was clearly shocked to see what Nepalese are doing all over the world, especially in the US. He was normally pretty quiet and in contemplative mood during lunch, reflecting a persona of true research scientist but at that time he could not restrain his tongue to say, "He's my best student. He's so intelligent. He can do anything. He knows magic. He's a true genius." Now this is something that made this meeting special. To hear such flattering comments from a nano-tech researcher about a Nepali student studying in my vicinity (after all, Houston is not so far from San Antonio), was a complete honor and matter of pride. Nepal, my country, my pride. These magicians, geniuses will make Nepal a paradise someday. I am hopeful.