Great Expectations
“Oh…why?” was my mother’s response when I told her I wanted to study abroad in India, as a look of obvious horror formed upon her face. While the concept of other cultures existing and flourishing is not particularly foreign to me, I hadn’t actually experienced any of it firsthand. Up until my departure for Delhi, I’d only read about the pressing political, environmental, and societal issues affecting the majority of the world’s population, all from the safety of the Allegheny bubble. Surely, this is no way to learn. A doctor at the Barefoot College NGO in Tilonia recently put it best when he said “Learning is experiencing.” He didn’t mean that we can’t share in one another’s knowledge, but that to truly understand something, it’s necessary to jump right in—to personally take in the colorful sights, the constant blaring sounds, even the rather distinctive smells of foreign lands.
My academic and personal goals during this semester are intertwined. Academically, I want to learn passable Hindi, catch a glimpse of both the plight and pleasure of living in an Indian city which combines the modern with the antiquated, as well as take in the inner workings of NGOs. I have no preconceived notions of eliminating poverty or solving the problem of unsafe drinking water. I understand that I’m here as merely an observer, and am only attempting to understand the motivations of the people with which I come into contact. On a more personal level, I wanted to see if I could handle the lifestyle experienced by 2/3 of the world, away from the creature comforts of a hot running shower, relatively pest-and-rodent-free homes, and familiar foods. I suppose I wanted to push my limits a bit, as I was told by a fellow student here, “If you can travel in India, you can travel anywhere.”