Mom's Final Thoughts

When I told people I was going to India, the most common reaction was something like, “Oh, I have no desire to go to India”.  On one level I understood the reaction, it isn’t as beautiful as Switzerland or as romantic as Italy or France but I believe the more places you visit the more you understand your world, appreciate differences in peoples and cultures, and discover about yourself.  Many people also remarked that you will either love India or hate it.  I found you could both love and hate India in the span of just hours but mainly I side with loving it (especially now that I’m home).  Life in India can be intense.  There is extreme poverty, harsh climate, congested traffic, awful pollution, overcrowded cities, and for me, most difficult, many stray dogs.  But India has its own unique beauty as well.  There is a rich history, incredible food, beautifully colorful garments, magnificent mountains, organized chaos, and many kind and helpful people.  There are many places in the world where you could look out a window and it could be anywhere but in India when you look out a window, it is clear you are in India.  After being there only two weeks, I am so impressed with Sedona’s choice to live there for 9 months.  I would have never been able to do it.  I visited her college and while the campus had some beautiful gardens and was lovely on the outside, the dorms where the girls lived were quite dismal.  The paint was peeling from the walls, the floors looked old and dirty, and through every window you looked out into a courtyard where the girls strung their clothes to dry.  Sedona had a makeshift broom she used to sweep out her room everyday as dust was everywhere.  Her bunk bed looked like something you’d see in a U.S. prison, only a few inches thick and the walls were bare and dirty.  And then there was the bathroom…let’s just say it’s a good thing she’s not a high maintenance woman.  It’s really difficult to express just how different everything in India is.  When Sedona says she had to change everything about how she lived, she’s not exaggerating.  I cannot express how impressed I am with my daughter.  She demonstrated such courage, patience, curiosity, appreciation, openness, adaptability, and an adventurous spirit.  She endured a serious bout with food poisoning that landed her in a foreign hospital, lost a crown that forced her to find a foreign dentist, traveled both alone and with dear friends all over India and Nepal, spent time in an ashram, learned to haggle with the finest auto rickshaw drivers, lived the whole time without a washing machine or dryer, got a job, met some amazing people, and learned how it felt to be a minority.  I think it’s appropriate she turned 21 during her stay in India because this experience certainly contributed to her maturity.  Through her experiences she has gained even more grace, confidence, and peace of mind.  She has accomplished something many of us, including myself, would never have had the courage or confidence to even attempt.  I’m sure this is just the beginning of new and exciting adventures still to come.