The first part of our trip in Delhi, did indeed cause me great despair. My traveling companions are a delight, the hotel we stayed in comfortable and welcoming. But the experience in this large city was far from delightful. The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the Taj Mahal, and the Red Fort spoke of times when India was indeed a great and ancient power. But my contemporary experience was filled with desperate people in the areas we went to. At every turn people were trying to scam us – sometimes successfully. When we were in situations that were ‘safe’, I kept waiting to find out how we’d been cheated – not able to relax and enjoy the experience. As a nurse practitioner, I found the acres of deeply poor people living in trash filled lots absolutely devastating. The image below captures this feeling – a creature that was once beautiful, now wretched.
I was reluctant to write a post that reflected poorly on our host country – until I arrived in Hubli and realized that what I’d seen was not representative of India. Hubli is an inland city, in the south west. Here is a city filled with people going to work, school children walking unattended to and from school, and several universities, including BVB, where we are attending class. The energy is palpable in our work groups – we are generating ideas to improve social issues. The students are young, optimistic, intelligent – and did I say fun? We spend time laughing, sharing the quirks of our cultures (did you know that there are no toaster ovens in Hubli?), and enjoying the company of one another. I feel energized, optimistic, and adventurous! This image captures the India I will remember – smart, cute, and growing!
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