At 17,  I was an exchange student to India 
the only foreigner in that small town
my white skin odd enough
to be touched randomly by children
and strangers 

I wore pants, had short hair and a flat chest. 
They thought I was a boy and called me
Johnny instead of Jenny.
I bought loud glass bangles
to wear on both arms 
so they would know 
I was a girl

Young, female and traveling alone,
i needed a cover. 
I put vermillion red powder
down the part in my hair
and rings on my toes
pretending to be married.

How could I know then 
that I would get sent back to the USA
9 months later
when the Exchange program found out
that I got married in a Hindu ceremony.

My family didn’t know I got married
when they picked me up at the airport.
I wore a cotton sari, smoked bidis,
and spoke with a funny accent.
On the way home
I sat in the middle of the front seat 
between my parents
my three younger siblings 
in the back. 
I slipped off my sandal,
and showed them the rings
on my toes.