(These photos are all from our first two stops: Bombay and Badlpur)
Going to India was a dream. Months before we left our team had many meetings that taught us about the Indian culture, what to expect, what to wear, what not to eat, everything you could think of. Just a couple days into our trip I realized that even if I knew everything there was to know and warned about every little detail, I had to experience India for myself. Someone told the group in a meeting “You’ll love India and hate it all in one day.” That really hit home with me while on the trip, even though I loved being there, traveling and experiencing everything new I often felt overwhelmed by everything.
The people of India are beautiful. We had the privilege to meet many people on our trip, mostly women and children filled with such joy despite their circumstances. This was convicting but also encouraging. Here I am, a selfish American that has more than enough and when one thing goes “wrong” my whole day or even week is thrown off. These people have been through some of the worst situations yet they still have a reason to smile. I wish I could share every story I have with you and share a peek into the lives of the people I met, but some stories have to be kept secret for now.
One question I think our whole team kept asking ourselves was why wasn’t I born into this? Why am I so blessed to live in America in a home with a family, a car, and multiple things I don’t need? Though this is a question that has no definite answer, I do believe even though I was blessed, with that comes great responsibility.
There was so much learned from my trip, I feel like I haven’t processed it all yet. While talking with an elderly friend who has had much travel experience she said “you won’t process it all for a while, and that is ok.” So maybe this post isn’t filled with complete thoughts, these are just a few things of the many I experienced in India.
More photos of India to come, and maybe more processed thoughts (but no promises on that one..)
-Courtney