"I get by with a little help from my friends." -The Beatles
Its been over a month since my last entry. In the last few weeks of my time in India I felt myself not being able to keep up with all that was happening within me and around me. Instead of beating myself up over it, I recognized the fact and went on living my life, enjoying myself in the present and telling myself I would take time to reflect on it in hindsight.
I arrived home in NY two weeks ago. Its amazing how quickly I've adjusted to being back home, but in a way I still feel detached from my immediate surroundings. India already seems hazy and blurry in the distance, though I find myself thinking of it at the most random times. Its impossible for me to summarize the last few weeks of my time in India in a coherent way, so I won't really try to do it justice. Most of my previous entries have focused on weekend trips I've taken, but now I really would prefer to talk about the days in between, when I wasn't swimming under waterfalls or climbing up mountaintops with incredible views. The unremarkable days.
The first day I arrived I panicked after stepping foot outside. I did not know what I had gotten myself into. After a few weeks I settled into the rhythms of my new surroundings but was secretly counting the days until I got back home. It wasn't until a few weeks into my stay that things - mainly my attitude - changed. I got off my butt and made some friends, and things really turned around from that point on.
Someone once asked me what I love the most about traveling, especially traveling alone, and my reply was simple - meeting new people. "But isn't it superficial?" They replied. "You don't get to know them for that long anyway, how good of a friend can you make?"
I thought about this, and I couldn't disagree more. I've found that the length of time I know someone doesn't necessarily constitute a better relationship. In my life I've discovered that most of the time, within the first few hours of meeting someone, I know if we are going to be great friends. If I spend two years sitting down the hall from someone I just say hi to when we pass each other, a few more years isn't going to change that relationship for me.
I've often become better friends with people I've known for only a few months than with those I've known for years, especially during my travels. Whether it be a great MIT roommate who I spent only a few months with but ended up being one of my most cherished friends, or my refreshingly honest German friends who I think of often, or my dear Italian friends who pull at my heart like distant family - great friends can take many forms. Friendship is something to be taken seriously, and I never found that to be more true than in India. When I injured my arm I had friends take turns taking me to the seemingly never ending hospital visits without batting an eye about the inconvenience. We then spent many days taking in great views on wonderful trips, or just helping each other get through not so great work days with shopping, dinner outings, movie nights, and many many tea breaks. These friends are what made my trip great.
This summer has been a wonderful experience for me, but don't get me wrong, I did struggle. I don't want to sugarcoat this. It is hard to leave your home and be dropped off halfway around the world and have to manage. It is hard to not speak the language and feel dependent on others if you pride yourself on being independent. It is hard to get into arguments and cultural clashes with friends who basically constitute your family abroad. It is a struggle to put a smile on your face on those days where you are mentally and emotionally spent and just want to stay in bed. And I'm not going to say that the beautiful trips and sights made all the struggle worth it (although they did). The struggle itself was worth it. Being taken out of your comfort zone and finding a way to make it work, and even more importantly, to come to enjoy and embrace your surroundings, is worth it. I feel like my character was often stretched this way and that during this trip, but all this stretching made me less rigid and more flexible to people, ideas, and situations in the future. And for that I am grateful.
It is always sad to leave new friends, especially when you feel that you've been through a lot with them. Its especially hard because often after you leave life gets in the way (of no fault of one's own) and contact can become less and less frequent. The people I have become friends with have left an imprint on my heart, and although I may not physically be with them I hope they know that I think of them often. I feel blessed to know that I have touched and entangled my life with people and friends around the world, as they have touched me. Even if just for a brief moment. And that's enough for me.
I arrived home in NY two weeks ago. Its amazing how quickly I've adjusted to being back home, but in a way I still feel detached from my immediate surroundings. India already seems hazy and blurry in the distance, though I find myself thinking of it at the most random times. Its impossible for me to summarize the last few weeks of my time in India in a coherent way, so I won't really try to do it justice. Most of my previous entries have focused on weekend trips I've taken, but now I really would prefer to talk about the days in between, when I wasn't swimming under waterfalls or climbing up mountaintops with incredible views. The unremarkable days.
The first day I arrived I panicked after stepping foot outside. I did not know what I had gotten myself into. After a few weeks I settled into the rhythms of my new surroundings but was secretly counting the days until I got back home. It wasn't until a few weeks into my stay that things - mainly my attitude - changed. I got off my butt and made some friends, and things really turned around from that point on.
Someone once asked me what I love the most about traveling, especially traveling alone, and my reply was simple - meeting new people. "But isn't it superficial?" They replied. "You don't get to know them for that long anyway, how good of a friend can you make?"
I thought about this, and I couldn't disagree more. I've found that the length of time I know someone doesn't necessarily constitute a better relationship. In my life I've discovered that most of the time, within the first few hours of meeting someone, I know if we are going to be great friends. If I spend two years sitting down the hall from someone I just say hi to when we pass each other, a few more years isn't going to change that relationship for me.
I've often become better friends with people I've known for only a few months than with those I've known for years, especially during my travels. Whether it be a great MIT roommate who I spent only a few months with but ended up being one of my most cherished friends, or my refreshingly honest German friends who I think of often, or my dear Italian friends who pull at my heart like distant family - great friends can take many forms. Friendship is something to be taken seriously, and I never found that to be more true than in India. When I injured my arm I had friends take turns taking me to the seemingly never ending hospital visits without batting an eye about the inconvenience. We then spent many days taking in great views on wonderful trips, or just helping each other get through not so great work days with shopping, dinner outings, movie nights, and many many tea breaks. These friends are what made my trip great.
This summer has been a wonderful experience for me, but don't get me wrong, I did struggle. I don't want to sugarcoat this. It is hard to leave your home and be dropped off halfway around the world and have to manage. It is hard to not speak the language and feel dependent on others if you pride yourself on being independent. It is hard to get into arguments and cultural clashes with friends who basically constitute your family abroad. It is a struggle to put a smile on your face on those days where you are mentally and emotionally spent and just want to stay in bed. And I'm not going to say that the beautiful trips and sights made all the struggle worth it (although they did). The struggle itself was worth it. Being taken out of your comfort zone and finding a way to make it work, and even more importantly, to come to enjoy and embrace your surroundings, is worth it. I feel like my character was often stretched this way and that during this trip, but all this stretching made me less rigid and more flexible to people, ideas, and situations in the future. And for that I am grateful.
It is always sad to leave new friends, especially when you feel that you've been through a lot with them. Its especially hard because often after you leave life gets in the way (of no fault of one's own) and contact can become less and less frequent. The people I have become friends with have left an imprint on my heart, and although I may not physically be with them I hope they know that I think of them often. I feel blessed to know that I have touched and entangled my life with people and friends around the world, as they have touched me. Even if just for a brief moment. And that's enough for me.
So to all my friends - thank you.
