No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be back in the United States! India was incredible, and my travel, education, and experiences in this incredible country were invaluable and life-changing. But, for me, nothing truly compares to home. During my last week in India, I visited a town in the foothills of the Himalayas where I learned about the relationship between Tibet (China) and India. I did some hiking, and my entire group rafted down the Ganges River. We then made our way to New Delhi, the capital of India, where we visited the Taj Mahal. My group and I ended our Indian adventure in Mumbai, "The Gateway to India." Mumbai still has a distinctive European "feel" to it from its British occupation, which made for very interesting cultural and historical conversations. India was captivating, beautiful, and enlightening. I was sad to leave the country and the friends I have made, but I am look forward to sharing my adventures with all of my friends and family at home.

 An approaching storm in the Himalayas

 The foothills of the Himalayas

 Sunset in Mumbai

 Port of Mumbai

It is incredible how something as simple as a vegetable stand can be so stunning

 The side of the Taj Mahal

 View of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort across the river

See the Taj Mahal...Check!!

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc

My time in the northern part of India is speeding by as fast as the trains I am traveling on. Yesterday my group completed a twenty-eight hour train ride, yes I said twenty-eight hours. I spent two days in Mutyalapadu, where we studied agriculture and the negative impacts of globalization and the influx of MNCs (Multi-National Corporations) on the agricultural sector of India. We were hosted by an organization that educates farmers about farming techniques, water conservation, and land rights. We then spent two days in Hyderabad, where we studied Islam. The city has one of the highest urban concentrations of Muslims in India, and India has the third largest Muslim population in the world. We visited a mosque (well, we were shown the outside because as non-Muslims, and women, we could not enter) which was beautiful.

We are currently in Varanasi, the city of lights. Varanasi is the holiest of cities for Hindus, sometimes referred to as the Mecca of Hinduism. Hinduism is centered around attaining moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation. It's believed that if a person’s ashes are scattered on the Ganges River in Varanasi, they will be able to obtain this spiritual release. Last night, we were able to witness a festival celebrating the birth and wedding of the deity Ram, and it was an extraordinary cultural experience.

 Varanasi and the Ganges River

 Street view in Hyderabad

 Hyderabad

 Hyderabad

 Mutyalapadu

 Hindi celebration from the Ganges River

 Sunset in Mutyalapadu

 Hyderabad

The mosque we visited in Hyderabad

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher Hershey

In my last two weeks in Coimbatore, I have visited a Jain temple, a Sikhism Gurdwara, and finished all of my classes and course work. I am now in the process of packing for my travels through the northern part of the country. I will be leaving in a few days for two weeks of extensive train travel. Coimbatore and the southern portion of the subcontinent have been wonderful, but I am excited to explore more of this incredibly diverse country.

 The Gorgeous Night Sky

 A Street-side Vendor

 Over 90% of India's population is employed in the "informal sector" which means they are like this woman, selling goods whenever and wherever she can. They have no meaningful job security in any meaningful sense, and the number of these workers is swelling with India's exponentially increasing population

A market for flowers and produce

 A Fabric STand

 A window of my apartment building

 Just a glorious scene I came across

The wall around my apartment complex

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” – Mohammed

I spent almost all of last week in Kerala, India, which is the westernmost state in the southern part of the country. Kerala is developmentally unique in India, with the highest literacy rates, lowest infant mortality rates, and more gender equality and equal aptly named. I took classes in the morning and traveled in the afternoons. The book “1000 Things To Do In The World Before You Die" includes sailing on the canals of Kerala, India. So, my friends and I "checked" that off our Bucket List. The canals of Kerala are referred to as the “Venice of the East.” My group sat on top of our boat, dangling out legs over the dazzling water, frantically snapping as many pictures as we could of the setting sun. When we finally lost our light, we all laid down, lulled into a profound state of relaxation by the water below us as the stars above.

 Sunset over the Arabian Sea

 Shore of the Arabian Sea

 The Backwaters of Kerala

 The jungle of Southern India

 The radiant back waters of Kerala again

 The sunset of the back waters of Kerala

 Another sunset shot over the back waters of Kerala

The sunset's reflection on the water

“Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are.” – George Eliot

This past weekend, I traveled to Chennai, which is on the eastern part of the subcontinent. My friends and I were able to visit the Indian Ocean while we were there, so I have now dipped my toes in three of the four world oceans - Arctic Ocean here I come (one day)! We visited two rural villages with a local NGO (Non-Governmenal Organization) that strives to educate and empower women. Chennai is the city where the Apostle Thomas was martyred. We visited the hill where he was killed and the church built upon his remains. There are only three churches in the world built over the bones of Christ's disciples. St. Peter in Vatican City, St. James in Spain, and St. Thomas in Chennai, India. I have visited two of the three, and I plan to make to the third one day. We traveled to Chennai by train. I had never ridden a sleeper-train before. There were six of us in a compartment with three pull-down beds on each side. I slept on the very top bunk, and it was pleasantly and surprisingly comfortable. I’m going to be traveling by train many more times during my time in India, so I guess it’s a good thing I enjoyed this one!

 This little boy could not sit still to save his life

 This girl could not have enough pictures taken of her, for obvious reasons

 And neither could this one

 An extremely colorful bucket of laundry

 Inhabitants of one of the villages I visited

 The sunset from the hill on which St. Thomas was martyred

 Church of St. Thomas

 The Indian Ocean

 The Indian Beach

The sunset from our train back to Coimbatore

“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did now know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.” – Italo Calvino

My time in India is becoming more and more exciting and fascinating. I and another student in my group, Jamie, did a home-stay with a wonderful older Indian couple, “Auntie” and “Uncle.” They were incredibly hospitable and generous. We went for walks, ate more of Auntie’s food than we should have, and just talked about our friends, families, cultures, and countries. I came away from that weekend feeling much more informed about this incredible country. This past weekend, our entire group went to the mountain city of Ooty. We visited two villages and visited the Mudumali Tiger Reserve where we took a South Indian safari through the jungle. We saw peacocks (the national bird), elephants, deer with the largest antlers I have ever seen, countless exotic birds, and more monkeys than we could count; one even jumped on the front of our bus and rode with us for a bit. We also visited the Fair Trade Nilgiri Tea Factory, were we got to witness the tea-making process. I am not a tea drinker myself, but seeing the fields of tea plants and the precision and care that goes into this industry (the tea industry constitutes a significant percentage of India’s economy) was fascinating.

 A Home at one of the mountain villages

 View from one of the mountain villages

 View of the Tiger Reserve

 Sunset at the Tiger Reserve

 These monkeys were just sooooo cute!!

 The sun setting through the forest

 A Peacock on a glorious perch

 View of the reserve from atop an elephant

 Just a flower that caught my eye

 The tea fields of the tea factory and a Hindu temple for the employees

 Tea prepared for us at the Tea Factory

 A traditional tribal celebration