I just landed in London! It was beautiful and clear and I could see the London eye, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben.
Amazing!!! But the weirdest thing was that I was hit with major culture shock walking through the Heathrow airport.
It was like everything had order and was clean and honestly, I felt a little awkward.
Even when I was in the bathroom I had to remind myself it was okay to put the toilet paper down the toilet.
As I look around the terminal, there are more white people than Indians.
I am no longer a minority.
It’s really unfortunate because I was just getting used to the life of a celebrity! (Everywhere you go in India, the people want to take pictures of and wave to the fairer skinned people) And people are wearing jeans, you know…BLUE JEANS! I had forgotten about those things.
I don’t even remember the last time I wore a pair of those.
I’m not going to lie, I kind of secretly miss the saris and chudidars and salwars. They’re so comfortable and modest!
But as much as I miss some of these simple everyday aspects of Indian culture, I’m doing a lot better than yesterday when I first left.
Leaving Rising Star was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do these past few weeks. Harder than carrying bricks in the sweltering heat, harder than cleaning the wrotting ulcers of the leprosy-affected, harder than being covered in mosquito bites and not having air conditioning. I couldn’t seem to bring myself to leave that magical place. As I said my goodbyes to all the little children who had made such an impact on my life, an overwhelming sense of love came over me. Some of them began to cry, and as I wiped their tears away, I found I could no longer hold back my emotions either! As much as I didn’t want our last night together to be a crying fest, somehow it did. It’s amazing how close you become with someone in such a short amount of time, especially when that someone is so open and trusting. I’m telling you, these little kids are the most open and loving children I have ever met. I’m sure it is very difficult for them to have to make all new connections and relationships with new volunteers every two to three weeks. But instead of shutting down and just giving up, these kids always have hope! It has been incredible to see their eyes light up every time they see you and to feel their love. I’m truly going to miss laughing and playing with them, and I will forever always associate staring contests, thumb wars, and hand games with my special days at rising star with the most beautiful, sweet, humble, happy children I’ve ever met.
As I make my way back to the U.S. I’ve been thinking about of all the things I’ve learned these past three weeks. Honestly the list keeps getting longer and longer. But I think the biggest thing I’ve gained from this experience is perspective! I think I have gained a whole new perspective on life and gained a better understanding of what my priorities are. I’ve come to value simplicity and humility. I’ve realized that there are people in the world that don’t live in the best of circumstances, but they do have one thing and that is love! I truly have come to understand what it means to love and be loved. It has made me appreciate the people in my life, especially my family, who I love and who love me. I’m so grateful to my parents that they have provided a life for me that I am able to travel to the other side of the world and have this life-changing experience. I’ve realized that many of the people of India have never, and probably will never, have the opportunity to travel outside of India. The hardest thing for me to understand has been why? Why me? Why was I born into a privileged life in the U.S.? And why are others born into the life they have? What am I supposed to do with the privileges I’ve been given? I’ve really been struggling with this, but for one thing, I’ve really come to believe that “Knowledge is power,” but at the same time, “Ignorance is bliss,” when it comes to this. The people of India don’t know any other life than the one they have, and quite honestly, they are happy! In fact they are one of the happiest peoples I’ve ever met. The biggest thing to help me understand this, though, has been learning to not judge and to be filled with gratitude for what I do have.
I am so excited to get home and see my family!! We are going to sponsor the cutest little girl named Theerthi (pronounced teer-tee). I posted a picture below…I know she looks all shy and innocent, but she is really a mischievous little ball of fire!! I love her soo much!!
There is no “goodbye” in tamil, which is just the way I like it!! Rather they say “poyitu varen,” which is “to go and come back.” Poyitu varen India! I know I will be back one day, there’s no doubt about it!
