India: Sarah's Post

We are all waking up from a couple hours of sleep at Thomas' sister's house. We came here straight after getting off of a night train from Haldwani, where we stayed at a quiet ashram for four nights, to hectic New Delhi. I can smell meat cooking for the first time where I'm actually going to get to eat it. Today is our last day in India. I have a mixed feelings of being sad we're leaving but at the same time I'm excited to go home and see my mom, sleep in my clean room with no one else, and get to eat cereal with milk. I've had really great experiences here, and got to know some people in the LINK a lot better. I think school will be a lot better when we get back... people will be able to connect somehow better than before. I have learned a lot more than just about the people in my class... I have opinions of the religions I used to know nothing about and the people involved with them. We've been here so long now that it seems normal, but I had never before seen a person with polio scooting around the streets without help, covered in dirt. Its things like this that make me feel stupid to talk about what I'm going to eat when I get home. We visited a slum in New Delhi where a group of teenagers gave us a tour of their home. At the end they gave every one of us a cup of chai for us to drink. One of the guys giving the tour asked us if anyone had any questions. One of us simply asked, "are you happy?". The guy smiled, paused and said, "yes". He seemed much happier than a lot of people I know back in the states... It just makes me ask, what is really important in life?

Sarah