India...

 I was so overwhelmed by everything I saw, did, or felt while I was in India; any summation I try to give just won’t do it justice... but I’ll at least start by saying that before we went on our month long adventure, I was really itching for something different and India proved to be a perfect solution.  I found it completely fascinating.

 Temple Statuary, New Delhi

Morning traffic, New Delhi

The thing that really struck me overall was India’s diversity (primarily in its peoples and land), but knowing that it is even more diverse than what I witnessed, blows my mind (… and I really can’t seem to articulate exactly what I mean by this, so you should just go and find out for yourself).  There are a lot of factors that go into India‘s variety, and I think it has an incredible energy because of it.

Drummer, Piran Kaliyar Shrine

Evening Arati at the Ganges in Haridwar

India is stimulating to all of one’s senses.  Everything was much more vibrant than I feel it can sometimes be in the U.S. (well ok, more specifically the Midwest): the colors, the food, the terrain, the architecture, the music, the smells, the air… So much of it was incredible because it was new to me,  but India seems as though it could not lose its intensity with time.

The Sikhs were my favorite group to learn about, and visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar was one of the more powerful experiences of our trip for me.  Besides the beauty of the place, it was powerful for me because it was the first time I felt I got a sense of what it might mean for something to be sacred, which was an idea that I didn’t really grow up with.  The walk through the building was brief but amazing, and I will always remember that moment and how it made me feel.  I was astonished  throughout the trip whenever I realized how much religion plays a role in these people’s everyday lives, and I really respect that. 

Sacred Banyan Tree

The people that some of us met on the trip and got a chance to know, really brought forth another realm of understanding of the intricacies of India: the girls in Haridwar, Salesh on the train, crazy Mirna from Mexico City, and Sangita’s family in Pushkar… those were the most memorable for me, not that those names mean anything to you, but you should take the opportunity to talk with as many people as you can.

At Sangita's house in Pushkar (with Maria and Jennell)