I have mocked India's odd bits and ironic elements, with love of course..but I would take this country over five trips to sit on a beach in Cabo..Never before have I taken a trip, or adventure, that has made me feel absolutely terrified at times yet totally safe and competent at other times, made me feel completely crazy and yet completely aware, sad for so many, yet grateful for what I take for granted and also just given me a new understanding for what I really 'need'. I have never seen such extremes, anywhere.
The severe poverty, the lack of sanitation, the role women are born into, the way this culture holds on to a belief system that a westerner thinks belongs in the past...all so alive and true here. Dowry burnings and arranged marriages are happening all the time. Of course we have read about all of this, but there was no preparation for actually seeing it. It's pretty devastating and pushes you to your limits of acceptance, because this is so many people's reality. On a simple walk to town I would want to cry ten times and found myself smiling in all my insides ten times to match that. The amazing thing is that so many Indians do not see themselves as 'poor' even in what I would consider terribly sad situations. They cling to their faith, whichever it may be, and seem to maintain calmness and even happiness. I am focusing on the positive encounters, obviously. It would be ignorant to suggest that India is a country of political and religious peace and rest... however, in my observations there is no where nearly as much angst like the kind that we seem to manufacture in the US.
Gives me a lot to be grateful for. My creature comforts, my friends, family, health.. my mind (hopefully, if I have not gone completely bananas yet!)
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