Ever since I was a child, my family and I have been going to India during the summer because they want me and my sister to learn about the ways of how they grew up. Due to that, I have a plethora of stories of my adventures in India, and one of them is from when I was four or five years old. During that trip, within a few hours of touchdown, I had known that this was going to be a trip to remember.

My mom's side of the family, as usual, was already at the airport two hours early. Since they were early, my mom was getting phone calls from them every five minutes for two hours straight, which, of course, she saw not one because she was on a plane with no cell reception. Anyway, when we landed and the reception had come back, her phone was constantly buzzing with the missed calls and voicemails she had received. This, of course, caused the people at customs to get angry, causing them to say in Hindi, "Go take the call somewhere else!"

Finally, when we were cleared at customs, we made our way outside to see our family, who ran to us like we were the million-dollar prize they had been waiting for so long (which we were). However, we were still not on our way home with that. The true challenge had come forth in front of us… getting three large suitcases and eight people in a maximum of two cars so that everything can be kept cheap. After at least five to ten minutes of bargaining, everyone had settled on a deal, and we were on our way home.

Once we arrived at the house, my mom and I took out stuff to her childhood room. Little did we know that there were four of us plus the eight people in two rooms with queen side beds. Keep in mind that in India, the houses are not as big as they are in America. Once that was figured out, we all slept, but the next morning was an even greater challenge.

Of course, when the foreigner daughter and her family come visit from the United States, the whole block knows, so right when the rooster crowed, there was a flood of people in and out of the house saying hello to my mom and giving me money.

After around four in the afternoon, everything started to die down, and I finally got to talk with my grandma. We talked in our own secret language that we created, so no one else would know. It was amazing. However, along with that, she taught me the Hindi language so that I could communicate with others, and that day, she questioned how I was talking to my elders because simply saying yes or no was not allowed to respect those older to us. She then taught me the word ji. She said that I was to use this whenever I was talking to someone older to me, but she also stated that even when I am saying something as simple as yes or no, I must add a ji at the end to show respect.

Ever since she has taught me the word ji, I have felt closer to the elders around me. It let the barrier fall for us to feel more open and safe. It also created a universe of saying things in a carefree manner because it built even more trust between us all.

The Hindi word ji is a word that is added to everything we say. It shows respect to elders and compassion along with kindness to all. This word is used all the time, much like in English where ma'am and sir are used when speaking to those who are older than us, but that use only skims the surface of what ji truly means. This word cannot be simply translated into English since it truly means nothing in English, and it is more personal than ma'am and sir. By saying it or attaching it to what one says, one can gain respect from others, love from elders they know, hope to those who may be below us, and trust from those who may not know them. It is a form of bringing people together, and any translation cannot come close to what this word truly brings to the world.