MY India is...

I loved India. I loved going, I loved living there, I loved living the culture, and meeting the people, and I will never regret my decision to go there. But I didn’t love everything about my experience there. Although everything I did and saw was eye-opening, there are things that I cannot be glad to have seen. Everything was not fun and exciting. There are times when my sheltered American self was absolutely shocked by the things I witnessed. There were times when my entire understanding of humanity was put into question. Some of the things I saw were awful. God’s children should not experience some of the things I witnessed. I have tried to write them down, but have not yet been able to describe the horror I felt.
But these things didn’t define my experience with India. They stand out in my mind because they are the exception. It is the little, everyday things…the things I wouldn’t usually bother to write about that really define my experience with India.
So! I will here attempt to share some of he things that DID define my stay…some things that ARE my experience with India. To me, India is so many things, I could list them forever, but let me begin with these few:

India is waking up in the morning to the rooster and trumpeter next door (who both seem to find it necessary to warm up their windpipes before the sun rises)
India is coming home and trying desperately (but failing) to avoid distracting the children scattered across the veranda as they study with Jeeva.
India is idli in the morning, thali in the afternoon, and dolsa at night, and sambar always.
India is wondering whether there are really elephants living in elephant mountain.
India is eternal stench.
India is groaning every night at 9, and every morning at 10 when the power goes out.
India is elbowing your way through the grouchy old ladies on the bus (who elbow much harder than you’ll ever be able)
India is uno on the veranda (with the ever-competitive Appa!).
India is cold bucket showers in the morning.
Hot. Sticky.
India is learning that lines mean nothing. You much learn to be aggressive!
India is learning that in Tamil, beehive is “Teiencurdu” (and India is learning how to properly pronounce it).
India is a part of my life that will always be a part of my life. It was not a simple experience or story that can be easily retold. It became a part of who I am. It melded into my life. It was entwined with the rest of my sum experiences. I am what I learned in India, and India, to me, is what I learned and who I became (and so much more).