I haven't blogged in four weeks, but I really didn't want to blog during my time in India. Perhaps I should have blogged on the journey back because now it seems like India is in the past and I shouldn't be thinking about it any longer. Regardless I still have to put something down, so I guess this will be pretty short.
Before leaving to India I was excited. I hadn't visited in 6.5 years and I was ready to be immersed in the culture I am so proud of when I'm at home. However for all the things I'm proud of India, there are somethings there that I simply can't stand (such as the monsoon weather, the mosquitoes, how prone I am to getting sick, how dependent I am on others, and dealing with crazy minded locals) and as the visit went on those bad things became more and more apparent.
I read an interesting post by a National Geographic photographer about her time in India (linked here). It was about how a visit to India needs the right mindset. You can't enjoy India if you don't embrace the madness. Unfortunately for me, this trip was never really about embracing India and more a chance to see and spend time with family (our Golden Triangle trip was amazing - 16 of us on an AC Bus and 5 Star Hotels). And thinking about it, that's how the trip's highs and lows fanned out. The best moments were with my extended family, when those bad things were at lows or went unnoticed and the worst when my extended family wasn't there and those bad things were at highs.
Visiting India will always be a family visit for me, something that isn't true for that National Geographic photographer. It'll be interesting to see how I learn from this visit and try to change my mindset for the next India trip, which will be under different circumstances.
Innovating Life
~ASKalburgi