Sarah's visit to Chennai, India is finally over. She sent me an email this morning that she is on her way to the airport for the long flight home.
Obviously, I can only report things I've gleaned from our computer interaction during the last 3 weeks. The sights, smells, sounds, feelings, experiences--All were hers and hers alone. What we can get is really dependent solely on her pictures and her literary skills. From just those two things her experience has been nothing short of amazing to her. The opportunity to fly halfway around the world and immerse yourself into a culture so different is truly an unforgettable experience. I'm both jealous and glad for her. (If you haven't already, click the link to her India blog over on the right of this screen and read her entries.)
She got to experience firsthand how different our world here in the U.S. is when compared to an overpopulated country with poverty running rampant. I don't think she will ever forget what she has seen and learned in her three week, eye-opening journey.
No she didn't see the Taj Mahal, or the Ganges River, or the Himalayas. No, she didn't see a snake charmer either (at least she didn't mention seeing one).
She did see a lot though. She saw movies, heard music, visited a wedding, had henna art drawn on her hands, wore traditional clothing, haggled with shopkeepers, and many, many other things.
She saw how proud and eager people are to learn. Kids that came from families that were dirt poor, fed on meager portions of food that were barely life-sustaining, were still bright-eyed, attentive, and hungry to learn everything that was taught in the schools.
I think she experienced one thing she never would have ever expected: She found herself embarrassed to be who we are in the U.S.--To have so much when so many there had so little. I think she felt more than once the sting of our wasteful society after seeing how that country scrapes by on so little.
She experienced over and over the staring eyes of everyone everywhere they went. Maybe because of their skin and hair coloring, maybe because of their manner of dress, maybe because of their nice cameras, or maybe the way they were transported around in a nice van/bus. Maybe it was all of those things. From the locals' perspective they might have been royalty. That probably would explain why they had to fend off autographs on so many occasions.
The foods they ate had to have been quite the sensory experience. For reasons of health, they (for the most part) opted out of meat, dairy, and raw vegetables. Even excluding those categories they had some amazing treats for their taste buds. From what I have gathered, they are all eager to get home to being able to eat what they want again without fear of gastric distress. Their efforts did pay off though--None of them experienced anything out of the ordinary from eating. I know Sarah is hungry for a plain old Papa Murphy's take 'n' bake cheese pizza.
It's going to be a long, somber flight home for the girls. Probably lots of crying and swirling thoughts of their whirlwind adventure. Lots of story-telling and remembering.
I know their lives are all richer for it.
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