Today was a long day for your favorite Americans abroad. I'm sure that my whimsical adventures around Trichy sound adorable and like I'm living the life, which honestly, in some aspects, you're right, but India is difficult sometimes. For the most part, I have a good sense of humor and a general willingness to go with what the world sends my way, but sometimes India can be a little exhausting.
Today's bird is the Emily. It likes tiramisu and Cheerwine and nice boys who make breakfast.
Some days, the difference in culture is overwhelming and frustrating and you're about one more thing away from chain smoking cigarettes on the roof with the French exchange students. That being said, I would in no way, have had the experience that I've had in India, any other place. I am approaching my senior year of college and all I've felt for the past two years is exhaustion. To be an Honors student and not feel smart enough, motivated enough, or successful enough is defeating. India will teach you a lot of things, but mostly it will teach you to be grateful.
Traveling has been wonderful and the Indian people are so kind and generous, but it is hard not to realize, suddenly and glaringly, how much, we as Americans, have. College has felt like an eternity of suffering for me, but to have so much independence and the freedom to change my mind as I grow is everything. The number of opportunities we have at our disposal is mind boggling. How is it, that with everything we have, we still manage to feel unsatisfied? If India has taught me one thing, it's that I've always had all the things I needed, I just never appreciated their presence. Pursuing your interests and passions and becoming a successful adult is not difficult, it's a privilege. Carrying ten pounds of water on your head, being seven years old and a major source of income for your family, are both difficult things, education is not.
If you want to lie in the sun and cuddle cheetahs, go to South Africa, they have a Hard Rock Cafe. But if you want to ask yourself questions you never thought you needed to, if you need a reality check, if you love spicy foods and lots of colors, if you need a refresher in genuine human kindness, come to India. Some days will be difficult, some days you do not want to deal with it, but at the end of the day, you will have spent a month in a beautiful, interesting country and you will be changed for the better.
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