Day 15: Alas, we must now say Alavida

The Debrief: How does one unpack a trip like this? Prior to our arrival in India, I am pretty sure none of us envisioned the sheer depth of emotions to be experienced. As we attempted to unpack our experiences during this trip, we were guided by our Fulbright lead, Dara, in determining highs and lows, aha moments and par for the course moments. Our conversations seemed to converge around the stories that India gave us. Stories that amused us and flummoxed us; stories that connected us but were inaccessible to us; stories that invited us to participate and stories that made us uncomfortable. Stories that charged us to sit with the new/different and try to make something of it.

Prior to my trip, I had informed the Superintendent of my district that I would be traveling to India as a Fulbrighter. He congratulated me and shared that he was a Fulbrighter as well. As I shared with him that my hope is to do something with the experience and learning in India, he told me to soak in every minute as it would be a trip that would change my life. I did not quite see his meaning at the time, but perhaps this is what he alluded to. I will never not  know the smell, taste and ambience of Indian cuisine. I will always remember the heat that clings to you like a second skin and the sweet relief of a cool breeze while under the shade of a magnificent tree. The teacher aide who faithfully provided hot delicious tea/coffee to all the teachers at HLC International school gave me new insight into hospitality. I will always be humbled by the depth and ubiquity of Hindu faith and how it permeates all levels of social life. Finally, I am convinced that as a society, we are similar and united in the age-old goal of nurturing and growing our young ones. Policies, practices and preferences may be different and prescribed by culture, values and opportunity, however, our predisposition towards generativity makes us both unique and similar…thankfully.