Somehow, seven weeks have passed since I left the States and embarked on this journey. During that time, I experienced stepping into a completely new world. Some things took adjusting to and I dealt with both ups and downs aplenty. But mostly I’ve noticed how much happiness I have found in immersing myself in a world of passionate and community-minded people. It’s funny how so many of the worries that used to trouble me seem to have dissipated. I’m a lot more focused on the present and the world around me. I do miss being around close friends or even just people my own age, but I am grateful to have learned from so many tough and spirited adults and elders. With many of the people that I love so far away, I learned to connect with new or different family members and bring love and joy into my life in new ways. I lived with a new kind of independence, while trying to be good about staying connected with the people I hold dearest in my heart. And I thoroughly shocked my family as I adventured and traveled around freely.
This experience was a huge contrast from my previous life as an engineering student. Out here, I worked with far fewer equations and spent no all-nighters working in a lab. Just the fact that I wasn’t working (or attending classes, practices, meetings, events, etc.) during every hour of the day and night felt a bit shocking. Instead, I slowed down a bit and spent more time learning from people and forming partnerships. I adjusted to managing a project under different cultural rules and expectations. I taught people about a simple technology, where I was removed from the testing and design process and instead spent my time speaking freely and passionately about all the potential good it could bring to communities. In the long run, I think I would like to be more involved in the design process of my work, but this was a good chance to focus more on building trust and commitment in the relationships and partnerships I formed and less on debugging or analyzing the technicalities.
In a country full of people jumping to get their engineering or medical degrees, being at Gandhigram showed me a world of people with different ambitions. One of our trainees learned hand-weaving, natural dyes, and other local and sustainable practices which he teaches to tribal and rural people. He contracts with a variety of NGOs, has done disaster relief work, and is hugely connected to projects all over India. He is younger than I am. I met a software engineer from a top Indian college who left the high-tech world and is now a farmer in rural Tamil Nadu, experimenting with sustainable practices and living a simpler life. He switched life paths after being married and having a small child. I worked with an economist and lawyer who has written books on social work and has gone to jail through his non-violent, Gandhian protests. I am glad to know how alive the struggle was for workers’ (Dalits’ or Untouchables’) rights here in India. These are just a few stories of the many people I had the chance to learn from and be inspired by.
Overall, I learned a lot by being in a community of people filled with purpose. Even at 80 or 90 years of age, people have goals and dreams of all the progress they want to achieve in their remaining lifetime. By having a cause to dedicate their lives to, these people continue to exhibit so much life and energy, I was amazed. Aging doesn’t slow them down in the slightest. Everyone around us was so unbothered by material goods and so openhearted. People care about people, and treat everyone like family. It was refreshing to live amidst simplicity and dedication.
I was happy with the way I adapted to eating and living in ways I wasn’t used to. I found that I can change my needs or desires significantly, based on my surroundings. Even though I miss going for long runs or eating fresh vegetables, it is a liberating feeling to know that I am not chained to my habits and that my own flexibility leaves me with a world full of opportunities.
After many weeks of being immersed in this place, it’s crazy to think that the people and faces I’ve seen every day for seven weeks have suddenly fallen out of my daily life. But as strange as it is to have left such a familiar place and said so many goodbyes, there are so many more opportunities, people, and places left to experience. I won’t say much about my upcoming project (it deserves a post of its own), except that I’m thrilled and filled with excitement. I have a few smaller adventures lined up as I transition, and then I’ll be off! Stay tuned for the next chapter of my adventure!
The top photo shows off a bit of painting work I did on our last day! I’m living with the imperfect text spacing, but I think the logo came out pretty close to the real thing! The bottom photos show our team exchanging some gifts and farewells.
