 |
| Really? |
Back to India. If someone would have told me three years ago that by this time in my life, I would have visited India more than any other country in the world, I would not have believed it. "How the hell would I get to India once, let alone three times!" is probably what I would have thought. Well, life is weird, man. Today is my twenty-seventh day of my third trip to India. This is also the second time I am working here, at another NGO. Also, I will be here for the longest amount of time I have ever been abroad: nearly 1 year. "Holy shit."
 |
Bahá'í Lotus Temple, Delhi
|
 |
| Humayun's Tomb |
That's all I kept thinking for the entire six weeks I was back home in the States before coming back to India. It was absolutely unbelievable to me that I was about to fly half way around the world again to live in Mumbai, one of my favorite cities in the world, for 10 months. "Holy shit." Not only am I coming back to India, but I am also leaving the country after just returning from being in Ghana for 6 months and having had the luck of traveling through Europe for a month and a half. In the past year, I have been on over 25 planes, and was about to board three more to get to Mumbai. "Holy Shit." Above all, I am not just coming for a short internship or a galavanting travel expedition. I am actually being paid by a foundation to come and work for and NGO. I am going to be a fellow under the name of the ex-president Bill Clinton. I am going to be paid to come to Mumbai and work for a youth development organization that offers its services within slums across the mega-city. Right after my final study abroad in Ghana in the spring, I am going to work on the ground in one of the most fascinating and socially stratified cities in the world. "Holy shit."
 |
| Lower Parel - My walk to work from the train |
 |
| My good friend Mini and I at an Art Show (furniture made from recycled trash) |
 |
| Marine Drive - Mumbai |
This year will be pretty different for me. I am representing the American India Foundation (www.aif.org) as a Clinton Fellow for Service (http://www.aifclintonfellowship.org/blog/). My job is to work with Magic Bus, a Mumbai-based Youth Development and Sports for Development NGO, to do some project to benefit the NGO, the beneficiaries and myself. Upon arriving in Delhi, I did not really know what to expect. Yet, as days passed by, the Fellowship became more and more interesting. We met the American Ambassador of India, had dinner with big Delhi socialites that are into development and philanthropy, partied on the rooftop at the nicest Sushi restaurant in Delhi, met heads of NGOs and non-profits ranging from rural livelihoods to women's rights, discussed politics withthe Editor and Chief of the Indian Express, talked caste with distinguished professors and even got a lecture on sexual minorities from a rep from a Delhi based MSM org. This fellowship is way more complex than I thought, having fellows doing work from public health to social enterprise to human rights to education. The most interesting part are probably the fellow themselves: some of the most talented and experienced people I have met. Meeting past alumni of this program has also made me realize what a great opportunity this is begin something even greater for myself after this fellowship ends. The group dynamic was great though, and I really enjoyed hanging out in Delhi with everyone, as well as getting to know some amazing people. Every day up until we left was packed with some activity, and then we all dispersed all over India. Once again, for the sixth time, I flew into Mumbai.
 |
| Hitting the clubs in Delhi |
 |
| Some of the AIF crew at orientation, Delhi |
India is one of those places for me that just never gets old. Beyond the appeal of being extremely foreign to me as a Westerner, it is a place that keeps anyone's senses occupied to the maximum. It felt good to land and know what to expect right away, while simultaneously remaining eager to continue to learn more that I still do not understand. It takes a local a lifetime to really know their homeland inside and out, and even they still are surprised by what happens in their own hood. This is a great lesson I have learned staying with my family in Ohio. Even though they know their city, they fit in culturally, they understand the local language, and even though they keep up with what's going on around them, they are still surprised by the traffic, by people's unexplainable behavior, by politics they can not explain, by things that have been there forever. This is my third time in India, but it is still only my 137th day in this country all together. Even two years here would not be enough to know it all. Yet, even though the learning curve for a traveler is steep, with greater effort you can learn a lot. I want this next ten months to never be dull. Everyday I hope to figure something new out through conversation, getting lost around Mumbai, practicing language, eating something new, reading up Indian books and authors and just living life in Mumbai. "Holy Shit," this is real!
 |
| Durga Pooja |
 |
| Durga Pooja |
 |
Durga Pooja
|
India is one of those places for me that just never gets old. Beyond the appeal of being extremely foreign to me as a Westerner, it is a place that keeps anyone's senses occupied to the maximum. It felt good to land and know what to expect right away, while simultaneously remaining eager to continue to learn more that I still do not understand. It takes a local a lifetime to really know their homeland inside and out, and even they still are surprised by what happens in their own hood. This is a great lesson I have learned staying with my family in Ohio. Even though they know their city, they fit in culturally, they understand the local language, and even though they keep up with what's going on around them, they are still surprised by the traffic, by people's unexplainable behavior, by politics they can not explain, by things that have been there forever. This is my third time in India, but it is still only my 137th day in this country all together. Even two years here would not be enough to know it all. Yet, even though the learning curve for a traveler is steep, with greater effort you can learn a lot. I want this next ten months to never be dull. Everyday I hope to figure something new out through conversation, getting lost around Mumbai, practicing language, eating something new, reading up Indian books and authors and just living life in Mumbai. "Holy Shit," this is real!
4 comments:
Sweet pictures, dude.
Thanks! Says who?
sorry I don't know why my name is "m".
-James
James as in Jamesy? How are you? Are you still in China?
Post a Comment