Do you think they'll notice I'm not Bengali?

For the past two days, my dental conference has shared the Toronto Convention center with the North American Bengali Conference. Never even occurred to me that they would have one, but I guess there's a conference for everything.

I have to say, they seem to be having a lot more fun than we are. We have poster sessions on gingivitis and oral cancer in the exhibit hall at one end of the convention center; they have Bollywood movies in the other exhibit hall. We have oral sessions on mouthwash and dental needs of the elderly in our small meeting rooms; they have kids doing bright colorful paintings and rooms full of really good-smelling food. We have hoards of Japanese dentists in dark suits; they have hoards of 70-something Indian women in brightly colored saris.

We considered trying to sneak in for lunch. We were willing to pay for it.

The one group that doesn't seem to be enjoying this event is the large number of first generation American and Canadian children that have been dragged along by their parents and grandparents. Most of them are tugging at their traditional clothes as though they are hoping they will turn into shorts and sandals. As they sit around eating their delightfully spicy lunch, they are staring longingly out the window at the hot dogs and french fries on the lunch trucks outside.

I considered paying one of those kids to trade places with me.