A few quick reflections on the experience

A few reflections on the experience:
In my opinion, this was one of the most amazing and one of the most difficult experiences of my life. So often during the month I was way outside my comfort zone—overwhelmed by so many different things. One friend warned me that I would experience sensory overload—boy was he ever right!

The hospitality and attention that we all received was much more than we dreamed and at times made us quite uncomfortable, especially when we had an upset stomach and we were offered more food—none of which was familiar and the sight and smell made our stomach pitch even more. The traffic in India is in one word—INSANE—I was sure we were going to be in a serious accident several times. I am very relieved that we were not, but we had several close calls and we saw the aftermath of what appeared to be a terrible accident between a motorcycle and a truck. The main mode of communication when driving is the horn—and there is a continuous symphony of various horns going at all times, the trucks and buses seem to have various tunes instead of a regular horn, and when a vehicle backs up different tunes are played instead of the traditional beep-beep-beep that we are familiar with. It’s almost like ring tones for cell phones, but horn tunes for vehicles. These noises are mixed in with the mooing of cows, the barking and sometimes fighting of dogs, cowbells, bicycle bells, and various loudspeakers blasting nasal, tonal chants or the nasal tonal speeches of political or religious leaders. It seems that everyone also talks louder—perhaps because of all the other noise.

The food is about as different from American food as you can get. It is again high on the sensory scale—both temperature wise and spice wise.

Although the month was a challenge for me—I feel it was a worthy beneficial experience. No culture is perfect and I believe we can always learn from others. The challenges that India faces in terms of establishing a better infrastructure and dealing with all the poverty and large population are at times overwhelming; however, their dedication to education and their families is truly inspiring! They are very proud of the joined family and the low divorce rate in their country. At one Rotary meeting everyone was introduced and we were also informed how long they had been married.

I thank all who made this experience possible, along the other team members, with whom I shared some incredible memories with!! We had some great laughs and some tough times but all tolled it was an experience of a lifetime that I am thankful to have had!