I remember the first time I fell in love with India. It wasn’t my immediate reaction upon arriving. My first few weeks were a mix of feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and homesick. But a few weeks after coming to teach at a nursing college in rural India, the principal decided that my co-SALTer and I should take a trip with a batch of Nursing students. We went to the government hospital, water tower, and local dam. Something happened to me during that trip. Staring out the window of the rickety bus, wind blowing in my hair, watching green fields of rice, villagers on bicycles, women in brightly colored saris – I realized something I hadn’t felt before. A sense of wonder. Was I really seeing what I was seeing? I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished that everyone I loved back at home could see what my eyes were seeing. I suppose this blog is an attempt to convey some of that to all of you. What my eyes have seen, my ears have heard, and my heart has felt. It’s an attempt for me to try to put into words the experiences I’ve had and begin to share my story.
To be sure, every cross-cultural experience carries with it difficulties and challenges. My experience is no exception. But as I approach the end of my two years in this country, what sticks most to my heart is a sense of gratefulness for all I have learned. Every experience has taught me something about life, God, myself, and the world. I am so grateful for the support of both my host community and my community at home.
The thing about crossing cultures is that everyone knows that it’s challenging to enter a new culture. What most people don’t know is that it is significantly more challenging to re-enter one’s home culture at the end of the experience. Coming home again is a process that begins months before one leaves the host country and ends months after one has returned. It is a process of seeing one’s own culture in a whole new way and finding a place in it again. So over these coming months, I hope to share some memories, insights, challenges, and laughs with all of you. So read on…if you dare. :) Love to you all!
7 years ago
