Settling In

I have been in India now for 4 days.  After a long and emotional journey, I touched down in Bangalore at 2:30 in the morning.  I nervously walked through immigration and grasped onto my passport as sleepily I went through security to make my official entry into India.  There's no way to describe how I felt walking through the airport to baggage claim then out into the city with no WiFi, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw a driver waiting for me, the first person who greeted me in this country.  Despite my zombie state, I was wide awake the whole 2-hour drive to my final destination, in awe of what little I could see of this country from the backseat of the car.  To summarize, I saw construction lights that hung to illuminate people's homes, roadside shrines to various Hindu gods, chai waalers setting up their stands, and about 30 stray dogs along the way.

Embracing the forced opportunity to observe the breeze...
I am settling in well.  There have been minimal expectations of me since arriving, which has been a welcome change of pace since giving myself so few days between the end of school and my journey to India.  Although I have not been asked to do much yet, I have taken in a lot.  What has stood out the most to me is how present everyone is.  There is limited WiFi access for adults, children don't have telephones or watch television programs, so people talk to each other, play together, and there is genuine laughter audible around every corner.  It is really helping me recognize that I am overreliant on technology as entertainment and how little time I spend actually taking in my surroundings, and thoughts.  

Going back to basics and keeping things simple.


  

 Yesterday I was out on a nature walk with some second graders.  We walked through a field of mango trees, observed a colorful gecko run across some rocks, and made predictions about how much longer it would take for the pomegranates to be ready to eat.  There were times when I felt tears welling up in my eyes, so taken by the pure joy in the kids' expressions.  

It still feels surreal to met that I am here, but at the same time, I feel like I am exactly where I should be.  I am getting accustomed to cold bucket showers, drying my clothes on a clothesline, and drinking instant coffee mixed in with my chai.  While all of these things felt daunting leading up to this experience, they have come naturally, because there just isn't any other way to do things here.  

I'll get into teaching this week, which will open up a whole new part of this experience and I am excited to dive into something completely different from my norm.  

The guesthouse I am calling home for the next two months.


Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 4, 2019 at 10:43 AM

    Gabby I love reading about this amazing , challenging , rewarding, eye opening experience. You inspire me to approach each day with a slightly different lens. Enjoy and can't wait to read your next post. Usha

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