WARNING: For those of you that know me well, you know I am crazy. This blog will not operate like a conventional blog. I am going to say what I want when I want to say it, and it may not make sense all the time but that is ok. I want to document the way I am feeling on every step of this journey and feelings rarely make sense.
I am writing this as we fly over the Atlantic Ocean. I am going in the opposite direction than the one in which my ancestors first crossed this ocean in the Middle Passage. We have a layover in Frankfurt, Germany and in Mumbai before we reach our final destination of Udaipur, India. I am excited beyond words and even if I don’t want to admit it I am also very afraid. I am going to the far side of the world to learn and work with people in a culture entirely different than my own. What do I have to offer them? What do they have to offer me? These are the types of questions that I have contemplated for the past week at the Pre-Departure Institute in Chicago. Still no answer. There are some questions that no class can answer. Some things must be experienced to be understood.
I am going to miss my family so much during these two months. It really is about 6 months because I will only be home for about 4 days when I get back from India before I leave to Cape Town, South Africa for study abroad in the fall semester. My family and I are extremely close but I have to see the world, and on my own terms. I need to see how people live, work, and play all across this planet before I can truly know my place in it. I have been so blessed with so many opportunities in my life and I don’t want to waste a single one of them. Every moment of the next six months, I pledge to be a human sponge. I want to soak up everything. I want to learn from everyone I meet and teach them something as well.
Before this trip, the only foreign country that I have ever visited was Canada. However, I have travelled very extensively across the United States. I have dreamed of this day for many years, and now that it is finally here I am so overcome with thanksgiving to the Lord and to my family for all the sacrifices that they have made for me. I don’t feel like I am on the plane alone, I have the spirits of my grandparents and their parents with me. This will be the first time in India for all of us, and I am making this trip for everyone who can’t make it. I am trying to say something right now but I don’t even know how to articulate it into words. Not trying to sound lofty here but I have to get this off my chest. I grew up in a city with a 65% high school dropout rate. I talked to both of my prom dates and another one of my guy friends in the days before I left for India. As they updated me on everything going on in their lives, none of them are in school or pursuing their passions in any way. These are great guys. Funny, sweet, smart, and caring. What is wrong? I am no different than them, we want the same things out of life. And when I tell them about the things that I am doing they say they are proud of me, but I just want to tell them that they can do it too! Is it too late? My friends and family write these guys off as losers but I cant do it. I see them as victims of a broken system, a system which gives them a chance but secretly hopes they wont take it. I was not encouraged to succeed at my Catholic high school until my senior year when I had already proven myself as a gifted student and talented orator. So back to my point, this trip is for all my loved ones, friends and family. This blog will be your gateway into India.
I am going to post pictures of everything, starting with the ones from my plane. I love AIR INDIA, the stewardesses are all so pretty and they greet everyone saying NAMASTE. NAMASTE is the word in Hindi for hello/goodbye but it is more than that. It really means “I see you” and that “my soul is meeting your soul”. I think that is such a beautiful greeting. To meet someone and see into their soul encourages a spirit of brotherhood in humanity that many of us Americans are missing. My battery is going low but I might update again in the airport in Germany or Mumbai if I have time. Love you all. NAMASTE!
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