{"id":1995,"date":"2017-08-25T10:08:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T10:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisa2017.ii.lsa.umich.edu\/?p=1995"},"modified":"2017-08-25T10:08:38","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T10:08:38","slug":"on-memories-and-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/2017\/08\/25\/on-memories-and-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"On Memories and Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is my last full day in India. I finished my volunteering\u00a0in Mumbai and have spent the last week and a half traveling with two of my sisters. It was so special to share a piece of my time here with them. Now, I\u2019m sitting in a little caf\u00e9 in Rishikesh, solo again, overlooking the Ganges and Himalayan foothills searching for\u00a0words to summarize my experience fully.<\/p>\n

\"My
My view right now in Rishikesh… I can’t imagine a more breathtaking place for writing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"At
At the Taj Mahal with two of my sisters, Lauren and Abby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve tried a few different beginnings to this post and they’ve ranged from existential crisis to disconnected and rambling mixes of thoughts. At the beginning of this experience, writing felt\u00a0easy. I just described my surroundings as an observer. Now, I understand the \u201cwhat\u201d around me much better, but the \u201cwhy,\u201d \u201chow,\u201d and \u201cnow what\u201d have become more and more\u00a0confusing, complicating, and haunting. My first impression of India was that I wouldn\u2019t be able to fully describe the experience to anyone, but I didn\u2019t realize that I myself would be included in that group while I try to process the ups and downs of the past 2 months. I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ll be able to fully wrap my head around the ways this experience has and will continue to shape me until long after I\u2019m back in the US.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrating
Celebrating Indian Independence Day in Udaipur– so colorful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For now, I don\u2019t want to forget. When I don\u2019t have an umbrella and get rained on, I want to remember the little boys who proudly and excitedly took me under their own as they led me to clinic when I was lost in a slum during monsoon. When I buy groceries, I want to remember the familiar toothy grin of the man at the fruit stand I visited every morning. When I get overwhelmed, I want to remember the Buddhist monk who taught me that the gap between discomfort and letting go is understanding. When communication is challenging, I want to remember the kindness of the community manager in clinic who taught me Hindi phrases so that we could talk. When school is stressful, I want to remember the sheer elation I felt when my coworker tapped me on the shoulder to exclaim that she\u2019d passed her final MBA exam. When I see my parents, I want to remember how special it felt when my mom texted me that she wished we could get brunch or when my dad sent me a funny meme\u2014things so casual and natural which felt so juxtaposed. When I have children of my own and watch their Little League games on manicured baseball fields or see their dance recitals in air-conditioned theatres, I want to remember the joyful little boys I saw playing cricket in the slums.<\/p>\n

India, for me, has redefined joy. The people I\u2019ve met and experiences I’ve had have filled me with more love and life and passion than I’ve ever felt. While a part of me is excited to fly home tomorrow,\u00a0it also feels a bit like turning the page on one of the most invigorating, moving, inspiring, and influential\u00a0chapters of a\u00a0book. But, for now, I still have today, and I\u2019m spending it immersed in the joy I have found here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is my last full day in India. I finished my volunteering\u00a0in Mumbai and have spent the last week and a half traveling with two of my sisters. It was so special to share a piece of my time here with them. Now, I\u2019m sitting in a little caf\u00e9 in Rishikesh, solo again, overlooking the Ganges and Himalayan foothills searching for\u00a0words to summarize my experience fully. I\u2019ve tried a few different beginnings to this post and they’ve ranged from existential…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4754,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-61"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4754"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/sisablogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}