Beginnings and Endings in Mother India

Last night, the group of five volunteers that left from New York six months ago sat in an apartment five stories up in a neighborhood just outside of Bombay proper called Bandra. They sat on red bean bag chairs and uncomfortable wicker couches, eating take out Chinese food and Pizza Hut and listening to the clanging bells of a Hindu puja, a religious rite, that was proceeding to make a racket on the street below.

"What are your memories of the beginning of the trip? Before we left New York?" asked Zach.

Valerie replied first, her eyes looking up at the ceiling as she laughed in recollection. "The rain. I remember the rain. The day we left there was that ridiculous rain storm. I was so pissed you have no idea... I stood in ankle high water with my bags for two hours waiting for a cab. I was five hours late for orientation. I thought it was a bad sign, an ill omen for the beginning of our trip."

Rebecca shifted. Her body language said that she had something to say, but was finding the words. "I remember thinking, when the rains began to fall, that this is it. The journey begins here. How I deal with this is how I deal with my whole time while I'm away and with India in general. If I run, if I get discouraged, if I'm convinced that this will somehow prevent me from making the best of my time, that will carry over. I had to be positive."

Over the course of the evening, the five of us sat and reflected, slurping up black bean noodles and bok choy as we took stock. What do we remember about our homestays? What about when we first arrived at work? What were things that sustained and supported us while we were here? Have our priorities changed from before we left? What are we going to bring home with us?

We worked through these questions and others, rolling them around in our minds, bringing to the table our thoughts and fears, our recollections and gained perspectives. It was important for me to hear what other people were thinking and feeling as we approach the end of our time in Bombay. I know that all of this past week I've been walking around, thinking about all the things that I'm going to miss here, all the aspects of my experience that have brought me close to this city. I've reflected so much while I've been here, be it through writing or photography or just talking things over with the people around me, and that's really made my time here full and rich.

I've had an amazing time in Bombay, and I really value every opportunity that it's allowed me.
I'm moving on for now, leaving next week on a train that will bring me up to the Himalayas. I'm looking forward to the change of pace and scenery. Though I love Bombay, I'm glad to be going to a place where I can breath and hike and allow my mind to soak in my whole time here. I'll be travelling around India and Thailand for the next two months, and I'm excited for the last leg of my journey here in the East. So until I return, Salaam Bombay, Salaam.