Re-Entry

 

 

The above photo was taken in Kolkata where our group on the Bare Witness Tour spent most of our time. It's odd to be riding along in a bus with cars, motorcycles, bicycle/human rickshaws and tuk-tuks weaving in and out of lanes, horns honking in a cacophony of noise. It seems useless to have actual lines on the roads as everyone ignores them...hence the billboard to encourage people to be more like the Beatles.
 

As we walked through streets and lanes, we needed to be mindful of where we stepped as to dodge cow dung and sinister looking puddles of the unknown. Smells bombard your senses with a weird mix of smoke from cooking fires, cow and other species dung, exhaust fumes, incense, frying oil and Indian spices.
 

The air is thick in both New Delhi and Kolkata, laden with pollution, smoke and some moisture. Many of us felt as though we were second hand smokers and some had respiratory infections and challenges.
 

Yet despite the dirt and pollution, I felt so comfortable, safe and welcomed by often curious locals. My heart would open every time I was greeted with a "Namaste' or Namaskar", accompanied by a slightly bowed head and either one or both hands over the heart. And although we had Indian food at virtually every meal, with many of my companions groaning at the sight and smell of more curry, I loved the rich flavors and comforting aromas. Not to mention the morning ritual of asking for masala chai, the milky spiced sweet black tea that welcomed us, not only each morning, but upon our group's arrival in many places.
 

Since returning a week ago, I get questions like "How was it? Did you have a great time? Was it wonderful?", to which I have been giving the standard answer of, "it was intense and amazing". It's so difficult to sum up the breadth of the experience in a short answer. My feelings and emotional ride is best expressed through my blog, and now that I'm back in the States I am officially in the "re-entry phase" of this whole adventure.
 

There is something about India that gets into my skin, my heart and my mind. I love the way they openly worship and move along with their day. And despite the many confronting situations of our tour, coming face to face with victims of sex trafficking, I saw hope, play and love.
 

My return to the States throws things into a slightly different perspective. I have to catch myself from rolling my eyes at our first world suffering, having seen such unthinkable situations. As Buddha stated, "we all suffer" and I remember this as I catch up with people in my own community and hear their stories. Re-entry can be a bit bumpy. I can't ignore what I've been through as I step back into my own routine. Everything seems a bit altered and I find myself flashing back to the many faces and moments that made up my experience in India.
 

And I realize, that everything isn't different...I am.