Goodbye India

As I currently sit in the Delhi international terminal, waiting for the boarding call for my flight to Muscat, it's hard to believe this is real. Am I really about to leave India, without knowledge of when I will return? Indeed I am.

India and I have had a love/hate relationship. I arrived excited and ready to conquer the world's largest democracy. It wasn't long before India got the first win. Days after arriving, I found I really enjoyed India, but dealing with the poverty was a bit more than I was ready for. After 4 months I'm still not sure I've really adjusted to it. Every time I see a beggar, it's like the first time.

Subsequent battles emerged. Who won and lost isn't so important because eventually we made our peace. Although I have to say I feel as if I got the best deal; India gave me more than I could ever give back. I've learned so much here. Not only about myself, but the world in general and well, India. India was at times like a second mother, forcing you to experience things you don't want to, but in the end it's for your own good. I won't say that India took the role willingly, she was simply being herself; but the time we have spent together has created a transformation in me.

I think most of all I am going to miss the food. Especially gulab jammun and butter chicken. I will also miss the Dhaba, the dhaba crew, and the delicious dal fry I ate everyday. I'm really going to miss the booksellers: Victor and the other kid. I don't know his name because every time we asked him (in Hindi and English) he would just laugh at us. Seeing and playing with them was definitely the highlight of rickshaw rides. Speaking of rickshaws, I'm going to miss those too. As much as I enjoy riding in cars, riding in autorickshaws was just fun. Riding along and feeling the breeze in your face . . . always great. My favorite thing to do was wash my hair before class and then stick my head out of the side of the rickshaw and let it air dry. That was extremely dangerous, but very refreshing. I met a lot of interesting people in India, both in my program and on random adventures. I'm going to miss those encounters. Everyday in Delhi was an adventure, even with a schedule, you never really knew what was going to happen. I suppose that statement is true of anywhere, but in my experience, I found in Delhi, surprises were a lot more common. The trains were really nice in India. I'm going to miss being able to travel with ease and cheaply.

I won't miss the traffic or the fact that everywhere is a public restroom. I won't miss the lack of air conditioning or beef. I also won't miss the bureaucracy, that always made me wonder how anything is ever accomplished in India. Most of all, I won't miss the terrorist threats against Americans. Over the last few weeks they limited the number of places we could go which I didn't appreciate.

India was good to me. Regardless of how I feel now or 20 years from now, one thing will remain the same: For four months of my life, I was an Indian resident.

Continuing to engage in adventures . . .