I chose to go on the India mini-term because I wanted to experience culture shock. I wanted to go somewhere that would show me things I could never see in America or any other first world country. This was my first time traveling to a third world country and the experience taught me things that can only be learned by leaving my comfort zone and immersing myself in the unfamiliar.
When I stepped off the plane in New Delhi, I began questioning my decision. What did I get myself into, I wondered. My body could sense the differences between India and America the second I stepped out of the airport, and I could hardly breathe the polluted air. The warm, smoggy air was nearly impossible to inhale. As I looked over to the friends I traveled with, we all look like someone had just slapped us across the face.
I think the best way to relay the lessons I learned in India is to explain the intense emotions I felt. I am a firm believer in having a constantly expanding comfort zone. I did find it difficult differentiating between culture shock and comfort zone in the beginning of the trip. Being in India and experiencing India first hand made me feel extremely overwhelmed. When I first arrived in India I confused these overwhelmed feelings with leaving my comfort zone, but I was mistaken. I realized the difference between culture shock and comfort zone after plunging into the Ganges. Upon arriving, I think it is safe to assume the intense beauty that was the Ganges blew me away. It was early in the morning and the sun had just risen. As I gazed at the river I found myself questioning my decision to remain dry and not soak my body in the holy, but polluted water. Then I realized the feelings I had been experiencing up until that point were more of a culture high rather than a culture shock. Everywhere we had gone and everything we had seen had been so different and fascinating to me that I had this constant smile glued to my face. In that moment, I realized I would probably never have another opportunity to wash my sins away in the Ganges, and although the thought of going into the water made me feel uncomfortable at first, once I went in I can honestly say that I have never felt more empowered. I do not know if the water is actually blessed, or if my sins were actually washed away, but I do believe that both figurative and literally taking that plunge into the Ganges and out of my comfort zone was the best decision of my life.
In addition to an expanding comfort zone, it is important to visit a third world country to learn about perspectives. Visiting India really helped me put my life into perspective and showed me how fortunate I am. I know it is generic to visit a third world country and witness poverty first hand for the first time and to all of a sudden be so grateful and fortunate, but I really do feel like I have learned an extremely important lesson. Every time we passed a beggar or drove by a street where the people were living on the sidewalk and were huddled around a fire, I felt truly heartbroken, for lack of a better term. When I saw these human beings living in such extreme poverty my problems seemed less dire than I often make them out to be.
In Mumbai, we had the opportunity to tour the largest slum and although the slum was a high-functioning environment, the living conditions were unsettling. However, I was shocked when I saw people attempting to be hygienic in the streets. On our tour, we walked past people bathing in the streets as well as brushing their teeth. But, the moment when I most noticed the extreme poverty gap in India was being at the roof top bar at the four seasons in Mumbai. The hotel looks over all of Mumbai. At first, the skyline was incredibly beautiful, but when I reached the edge of the roof I looked down on the massive slum. The drastic difference between the rich and the poor was exceedingly upsetting. Being in a luxury hotel and looking down at the slum was a moment that will stay with me forever.
Visiting a third world country may not seem like the most appealing vacation, but it really is, in my opinion, something everyone should do at least once in his or her life. There are certain things that cannot be learned in a classroom, you must expand you comfort zone and experience something completely unfamiliar.
