New Journey

as i stepped out of the plane and took in the humid air of my beautiful india, that feeling of familiarity and warmness hit me. the only difference this time was that i knew things would be different. it officially was my first day of summer vacation 2010 since i had just taken the SAT, and a few hours later i was on the plane. the flights go by quickly since i end up sleeping a lot. anyways back to india. i wasnt there to just eat street food and get lazy. i was on a mission. a mission to understand the layers of this country that i have a strong connection to. why do i consider myself indian when i live in america? am i american-indian or indian-american? i have been coming to india almost every year since i was little. but do i really understand what india is? this question brought me to this 5-week summer program called InSPIRE. little did i know i would come back with a totally different perspective and a ton of insight. the group included me plus 11 other people, all from unique backgrounds with amazing stories to share. in the program we travelled from ahmedabad to bangalore, pondicherry, auroville, thiruvannamalai, and wayanad. we explored india at the grassroot level and experienced things i would never have even dreamed about. ill get into the deets later since i want to reflect on various experiencs. soo until then.. adios! :)