This is a 5 minute overview of just part of the work I did this summer...
I've spent 6 out of the last 14 months in India. My 8 weeks Mumbai for this trip has come to an end. I found it hard to post during this trip for a few reasons. One, because our group was working so hard everyday. Two, we balanced the hard work with a healthy dose of social life in the Bollywood world. Three, because things just became so normalized that I honestly forgot I wasn't Indian some days.
Our partner NGO, PSI
I'd wake up, walk down the street, dodge some traffic (be it people,cars, buses, or cows) grab some chai for 4 rupees from my favorite chai stand while reading the Times of India and holding an umbrella to hide from the monsoon, eating a Samosa Pav in my other hand (yes, that adds up to four hands but if Vishnu can do it, so can I). I'd walk down J.B. Nager (the neighborhood I lived in for 2 years) and wave to all the shopkeepers and ask them how their day was going before jetting off in a rickshaw to the train station to attend meetings with lawyers, college professors, teachers, doctors, college students, and kids. Everyday was a good 12-14 hour day but never was I ready to call it an end before that.
I loved working with Haath Mein Sehat- through this group I have learned the skills I need for the future, especially in the Peace Corps next year. I can't say that this will be my last trip to India because I love this city, this country, and this culture too much to move on. Bombay has a place in my heart now, another place I will call home and have to make visits to in the future (especially since I have a 10 year visa!)
Working on a school installation at Muktangan
I feel so fortunate to have experienced what I have this summer with such an amazing group of dedicated and passionate activists that were my room mates... will I ever be so lucky to work with such a great crew of people? I hope so because the happiness I encountered this summer shouldn't be a once in a lifetime deal- but rather a lifestyle.
I am excited for the future of HMS to partner with Tata, Teach for India, new NGO's and for the work I poured my heart and soul into to be carried out in the future.Although I have left India, I have not left the project. I still have so many ideas and energies I want to put forth. I am proud of what I've done so far and really impressed with everyone's dedication to the project as well.
Awesome street food at Juhu Beach
1st grader in the 3 week program
Ganesh Shrine at train station
Crawford Market
Behrampada
Bandra-Worli Sea Link
This is an end to India for now... but not goodbye. I will miss the constant warmth, the coziness of no personal space, the rich aromas, the meaningful life lessons, new perspectives of where I place my values, the constant new conversations with new friends on marine drive, the friendly head bobbles on the trains, the hard bargaining, the chaat....ughhh... everything! Now I will be enjoying time with my family in Cleveland before heading off to South America in 3 weeks for a brand new set of stories, people and places to call home.
