Thursday, July 22, 2010

:Good riddance:

It's extremely hot
It smells weird
There are numerous homeless people
The traffic is insanely chaotic
The pollution is out of control
The population is not in control either

And the list can go on, as to why India isn't the most ideal place for so many people...But there is another list that is often overlooked

People have high hopes
Even a homeless person has sparkling eyes
Multiple religions coexist in the same city and region
There are over twenty different languages with more than ninety dialects
A dollar to charity will go further here than in any other Western nation
There are more opportunities to benefit the greater good
Being here makes you realize the small idiosyncracies that make our life convenient are actually all unnecessary and just fringe benefits

I've been in India for about two months now, and I've had plenty of people ask me "why in the world would you move to India from the States?" It is very difficult for me to answer this question, mostly because it is going to be biased, and also because I don't want to do injustice to either of the two countries. However, one thing I will say is that even through the numerous inconveniences that exist with living in a third world country, there is a weird sense of 'homeness' and 'belongingness' that lacks in Western countries. Even though there are times when I get frustrated with the everyday annoyances, I have never questioned my decision to move to India on a permanent basis.
I have learned more about myself, people, life, relationships, culture here in the last two months than I have in all my years combined so far. Perhaps it is because I was too young or naive to realize this earlier, or maybe I have too much time on my hands here (ha), it has been a very interesting transition and has met all my expectations so far.
If you're reading this note and haven't ever stepped out of the Western cocoon, I really suggest you do so. Moving to another country is not necessary to learn these lessons, delving in it for a few weeks will suffice. It might change your life in bigger ways than you think. Seriously.
Cheers.

1 comment:

Pyschobabble said...

Oh I love this...

Unless you have experienced it, you won't understand the meaning behind this. Everytime I am in India, I feel like I leave there with a new lesson learnt. I may not be up for the move there yet, but the frequent visits will never stop.

Being able to see both sides of this world is an amazing opportunity which I feel that is a neccessity in order to understand and appreciate the world that we live in.

It makes you a complete person, more dynamic...

I love my India :)