For every beautiful thing I can say about India and my experience here I can also say an ugly thing. It has been such a whirl wind experience, from having people in Delhi over-charge me simply because I was a foreigner, to having a complete stranger with very little English hand over his phone to me to make a phone call. In every situation there are ups and downs. I don’t know what it is about India or if it’s simply me but this has been a romance that I know will never end.

Yet despite the challenges in dealing with India itself, or dealing with work related issues I look forward to each day as a new adventure. It’s true what they say, change your thinking and your environment will also change. A change in perspective really is all it takes. I learn this every day at work and in India.

Coming to India I thought I was ready for anything because I’ve lived in Haiti so I figured nothing could really shock me. Boy was I wrong. I learned that my first night at the family homestay. I was greeted by this local girl name Sunita, very nice young lady, she didn’t seem that much different than I was and the house was small yet charming and cozy. So I asked to use the bathroom she points to 2 rooms and mumbles something. So the first door I opened, my mouth dropped. I thought to myself oh she was pointing to the other door; I need to pay better attention. So when I opened the second door it was clear to me that it was a shower. I was not ready for that surprise at all.

Dude it’s a HOLE IN THE FLOOR with a foot stool.

Squat toilet!                                                                                             

That was the first time I wondered what I was doing here and I didn’t realize it was an indicator of what was to come. Everything is to the extreme. Anything from cow poop mixed with mud filled stairs to beautiful mountain views that you cannot get anywhere else. Here in India you may not have water in your apartment to brush your teeth or flush the toilet but you wake up to such a beautiful sunrise that you forget what’s actually happening. And if you wait patiently enough water comes back. Patience is a must here. At work I can go from being totally lost and questioning whether my work matters or what exactly am I supposed to be doing, to feeling energised and rewarded by my work. Through it all the magic that seems to be alive everywhere here keeps you going. You learn that if you are truly present in each moment things will work out. Patience is key.

For everything that is beautiful within my experience the opposite is also true.

But I love it; I guess that is the point to it all…

Beauty is everywhere if even in the filth, you just have to look for it.

Namaste

Whitney (Haiti/USA)

Eco Volunteer Travel Coordinator

Naddi centre