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India is always full of suprises and this trip has not disappointed.  My friend Faisal is getting married in February and I and my family are invited. It will be my first Indian wedding. Excited!

There is something about a good story that captivates us and makes us want to share it with others. The story of Holi is one of those stories. It has everything, A hero, a villain, an unexpected plot twist and then a happy ending. (well, for most of the characters)  The Holi celebration for me when I celebrate it with SIS has always held special meaning. With all the sensory overload going around the group it is great for the students to take a break with some new friends and just be kids. There is something about spraying someone with water and throwing colors on them that seems to span the distance gap between our cultures.  I also see through this mutual activity between the students that we have much more in common than different and the differences we do have, if respected and maybe even understood brings a respect that I have found lacking of late in the world. These were all thoughts going through my head as I was enjoying watching the SIS students and MHS students go after each other with colors and water and of course, plenty of laughter.

 

We arrived in Mumbai at little late due to a delay landing but, arrived nonetheless. Customs was amazingly easy… for India… e-visas, I think you are our future. Luggage all accounted for, through security, a final reminder to represent us well and we were off to meet the SIS students and settle into our homes for the next 5 days. The SIS students couldn’t believe how much our students talked. Over tired and excited make for a great time on an enclosed bus. We took a different vehicle. Mumbai is a city of contrasts, whether it be economic, religious, political, social, everyone who comes here has a story to tell and as unique as they are, Mumbai seems to relish in it. I feel alive when I am here and maybe it is because I am pushed out of my comfort zone or in some cases guided gently to try something new by an old friend. Either way, it challenges me and reminds me why I like it here. I look forward to having the students begin adding to the blog tomorrow provided the wifi kicks in. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.

Good night Mumbai I wait to be awakened by you tomorrow.

 

I always get this feeling at the mid-way point of traveling somewhere. Although I am tired, I am excited to be half way there. My attitude is either half empty or half full. Our adventure today was having to get our boarding passes in the lower level of DeGaulle… Let’s see… 1 person printing passes for over 20 people in line (13 were mine)…. machine being broken… thinking it was fixed only to have them print out the first 5 passes with my name on it and my seat assignment. I like my students but, thought an 8 hour flight in the same seat might be pushing it for all involved. All which equals making it to the gate with 20 minutes before boarding and many of the students picking up macaroons. We are almost there. (Or at least half way)

You would think after 5+ years of taking students abroad sleeping the night before would get easier… no such luck. Packed…check…. paperwork…check… flights on time (at least right now)… check.  Excited, anxious, and tired describe all my emotions right now. Yet, when I reach Mumbai and see the smiling face of my friend Kavita and her students waiting for us, all that drifts away and I feel at peace, like I have come home. I guess India has that effect on me, I may not be from there and the general culture is very different from my own, but I never have felt more welcomed. I call it a “cultural pillow” and I can not wait to rest my head on it again.

It is the day before 11 MHS students, a fellow teacher and myself will head out once again to India and have the experience of a lifetime. It is with excitement that I hope my students and fellow adult traveler will find India as welcoming, as exciting, and as challenging as I did 6 years ago when I first traveled to this incredible place. I am reminded of a quote from the movie: “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” when a traveler who is having a difficult time adjusting to India asks another who is fairing much better, “What is it that you see that I don’t” and he replies, “I see colors, smiles, all of life is here in India and it teaches me something.”  India, I am excited for another lesson.