Re-Assimilation

Summary: Am back in the US now (for the foreseeable future), digesting everything that has happened this past year and (of course), job hunting.

Time can be measured in many ways, from the loads of laundry done to the number of times a gardener has mowed the lawn to the number of episodes of "The Office" watched. Or, it can be measured by the number of Hindi phrases used, the number of Indian culinary experiments embarked upon, or the number of head bobbles seen.

It's been awhile, but I'm back home now, and by home I mean back in LA, with my family, in the house where I grew up. I am not the same person I was a year ago, but neither am I a brand new person. I am a fusion of my experiences, and of my memories. I just need to find a way to put it all into words.

My last few weeks in Lucknow are now quite a blur, filled with last-minute school visits, final restaurant experimentations, friends, and denial. It was my own decision, I bought the plane tickets, and I talked about the imminent departure, but I did not internalize any of it.

I'm still not sure I've internalized it.

I didn't get slammed by the culture shock in the way I half expected to, but I got hit with a lot more. Having grown up in the US, you never truly forget what your home country is like - in that sense, nothing was completely shocking.

Yet in other ways, everything was a little different. The way the streets are laid out, the way skyscrapers tower over you (in NY), the way Starbucks line every block, the way people walk and carry themselves, the way people interact with one another.

And then there's everything that's missing - the familiar green and yellow autorickshaws, the dirt and semi-paved roads, my sabzi wallahs sitting on the side of the road, buffalo milk that comes in plastic bags, the kids that smile and wave at me every morning.

Of course, I also think back to everything I saw and learned at DSH. And I can't help but realize that there's so much more that needs to be done, especially in the field of education. And not just in India, but elsewhere, including the US.

I’m feeling antsy already. Chalo!