Varanasi

I’ve been thinking about culture shock lately. Before we left for India I asked a lot of people what culture shock was like, and it didn’t ever seem like anyone was able to give me a straightforward answer. The response was always different, and vague. There wasn’t any concrete sign of it, it seemed, that anyone would talk about. At some point I realized that as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t prepare myself for that aspect of going to India. As our program is winding to a close, I have a different perspective on culture shock. I think it is different for everyone, which is why when I asked different people I got different answers. For me I’ve felt it happen in stages. First there was awe and excitement, because everything was new and different, and I never knew what to expect. That lasted for quite a while. Next it started to feel tiring, like there was nothing familiar, and therefore there was nothing to find comfort in. That was an emotional time. After a while the unfamiliarity that had been a constant began to feel familiar itself. The more time that passes the more settled and adjusted and the more comfortable navigating situations I feel, despite the constant changes. Now what tends to happen is, every now and again I’ll have a moment that actually feels like a shock, where I become super present in the moment and find myself thinking “wow, I’m in India.” I really enjoy those moments. I can usually stay in them for a minute or two. I love the way they bring me into the here and now. I think I’ve learned a lot about how to be present from having that experience. Just like I learned in practicing piano, if you do something over enough times you create neural pathways in your brain that make doing it again easier every time. I think that has happened in this situation. I find myself having a much easier time getting out of my head and into the moment now than I used to, even without the help of those shock-like moments, which is something I’ve been wanting to work on for a long time. I’m always happier in my day to day life when I’m as present as I can be. I also find myself with the best people, in the best places, having the best experiences when I operate in the present. It makes the world seem bright and my anxieties seem small. This is one lesson that I truly want to take home with me when I return from India. Live in the present.