July 29, 2011
As I drink my last cup of authentic Indian chia tea and write my last blog from India I have mixed emotions. When Chris, my partner/roommate, left two days ago I felt a little reverse culture shock. I had been with him day and night for the last 4 weeks so we grew to know each other very well. After he was gone I felt like I did when I left the US: alone and a little lost. It was something new to be alone even though the rest of the group members were still here.
Last night Jeff, Daniel, Joell, Matti, Felecia and I took out Mayank and Mr and Mrs. Mehta for a nice supper. Mr. and Mrs. Mehta are our house parents and Mayank is the local coordinator. It was really fun reminiscing and looking back on all our fun adventures. After we got home I packed and should have gone to bed because I had a big day of travel ahead of me, but I stayed up and talked with some of the others. Talk about amazing backgrounds…
Felecia: won the national jump rope competition in 2009, competed on a team later for the world competition and placed 3rd.
Matti: received her neuroscience masters studying in Denmark, speaks French, English, German, and Spanish, traveled all across the world, and rock/ice climbs with some of the best climbers in the world
Mary: went to Harvard undergrad and knows Marc Zuckerburg (inventor of Facebook)
How interesting are those people!!!! The best part is I didn’t find most of these things out until the end of our stay because everyone here is so humble.
Anyways, after these conversations it should have been bed time but….. India couldn’t let my last night in the country be so relaxing. As I was looking at ice climbing photos of Matti, I looked up to see a cockroach scampering across the floor! I had only seen maybe one or two in my life so I wanted to look at it more closely. After capturing it under a cup and throwing it outside I went to the kitchen to put the cup in the sink. I turned on the lights there were cockroaches EVERYWHERE! In the sink, on the floor, under the stove…. Yuck! I freaked out and started hop-scotching across the floor to escape. Pretty soon they started flooding out of the kitchen into the living room where everyone was. We equipped ourselves with spray deodorant, Off bug spray, flashlights and a broom to fend them off. After searching throughout the house we killed 54 cockroaches (all adults, there were another 50 baby ones too). I guess when it rains it pushes them out of the pipes and they invade houses…India strikes again! Haha
At least I had a memorable last night in India. The taxi is coming to drive me to the airport in 30 minutes. I’m going to miss India and the ridiculous adventures I had, but will remember them for the rest of my life.
Top stories:
1. Night in Mumbai
2. Vacation in the Himalayas
3. Hysterectomy gone bad
4. Sleeper Bus Fiasco
5. Cockroach invasion
6. Homeopathic Treatment
7. Mo-peds in Rishikesh
8. Elephant Rides
9. Driving in Goa
10. Night on the town with Mayank
Au revoir India!
Education comes in many forms. Travel, another culture, stepping out of your comfort zone and seeing how another part of the world lives has given you a new perspective on life as well as health care. Looking forward to seeing you in a few hours. I'm so proud of you!
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