Fun in Cambs: This picture is deceivingly nice. Kate and my finger puppets had just finished battling, but luckily they made up.
On my last night in India, my cousin Mona asked me how this experience has changed me. Sure I now enjoy watching cheesy Bollywood movies and can sort of do the indiscernible Indian head bobble (indiscernible because it can mean yes OR no!), but there was much more to this question that I hadn't given much thought to. I rambled off a few general statements at the time, but now I've had a chance to give it more thought...
The work I did opened up my eyes to how easy it is for ANYONE to make a difference. It doesn't take a genius or the dedication of a Mother Teresa to help people. All it takes is a desire to help people and the willingness to spend a little bit of time to do it. While being able to spend 3 months in India was nice, it will be easy enough to continue supporting the project I worked on by dedicating a little time to it every now and then, and I plan on doing just that to help see this project to completion over the next year or two. And if the opportunity arises or if I feel called to do so again, I'll jump at the opportunity to go out and spend more time out there.
With the work we did, villagers like these will be able to afford their own units instead of renting expensive government owned units like this one.
But perhaps the greater influence on me was outside volunteering, and it involved seeing both the good and bad in people. Anytime I stood in a line, I felt like Indians had no concept of common courtesy since they would cut as if I didn't exist. Often times, if someone had the smallest of inconveniences, they would get bent out of shape. And when I went to popular religious sites, I found out that the people I had to be most weary of were the priests, for many of them are just out to make a buck! I previously had a more idealistic view of India, and seeing these things from an "outsiders" perspective really opened my eyes to flaws in human nature that are not unique to any people, for we have inconsiderate, short-tempered, and corrupt people here in America too (don't look too hard, you're probably one of them! ;) ). Seeing the imperfect side of people made me more aware of things that I may do to offend people or that get me bent out of shape (I have serious road rage!), and I plan on working to improve on these things.
Watch out for this guy. He may be trying to give you a tour of different ways to put money in his pocket.
On a more positive note, I was pleasantly surprised by the hoards of people willing to go out of their way to help me out during my time in India. Whether it was the scientist who gave many hours of his time to help with my work, the stranger who I met on an auto-rickshaw who paid for my ride and made sure my "connecting" rickshaw driver didn't rip me off, or the villagers who all insisted that I stay with them instead of a hotel, everywhere I went, I met many more of these types of people than the unpleasant ones. At times, it was completely appalling how far people were willing to go out of their way since I wouldn't have even thought to give so much to a stranger as I received during my time in India (unless I'm vying for a date of course!). And yet so many people did this without a second thought. This is among the most admirable qualities I have ever witnessed, and I hope that some of it has rubbed off on me.
This villager, Premchandra Verma, spent many hours over 2 days talking with me about how he extracts oil from plants.
Trying to dedicate more time on a regular basis to help those less fortunate and being more aware of my affect on others aren't profound changes, and that's ok, I didn't expect anything profound to happen when I came out here. However, if the world we want to live in includes these ideals, we have to dare to be part of that change ourselves. But as I told Mona, my fear is that after a few months, all of this will wear off, sort of like being inspired by a good movie and then minutes later, forgetting it all. After all, I've been to India before and have returned telling myself things like I will never throw away food again. Then after a few days, I am back to my old self. Allowing this experience to change me in the long run will take work, and all I can do now is take it day by day, and every once in a while, reflect on this experience as a reminder of what I learned.
Having said that, I can say that I "became Indian" since I now jam to Bollywood music and can bargain with rickshaw drivers in Hindi (an oh so useful skill in America...). But I would rather say that I am on the path to becoming closer to the person that I want to be. The person who doesn't let small things upset him and who will help out a stranger without a selfish motive. The person who can help others that are less fortunate than him or herself. And you find these types of people all over the world. Now that hard part begins, and that's becoming that person.
Now I'm even wearing Indian clothes in America. I'm totally Indian!
