Summer in South Asia Fellows Blogs

While there, this year’s fellows will be blogging to keep their friends, family, and CSAS staff members up-to-date on their travels and adventures. You can read their blogs here and follow along with their work and travel experiences in India. Happy reading!

This past week on May 1, I arrived in Mysore (Mysuru), a city in India's southwestern Karnataka state, starting my internship with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), an NGO working towards developing human and social capital to build a resurgent India, involved in areas including health, education, socio-economic empowerment, and training and research. Over the past week, I have been introduces to the various works that SVYM does. I spent the first couple of days at the main office in Mysuru, Karnataka, meeting with numerous faculty members to learn more about the work they do. I also spent a day travelling with a group of a nurses and doctors on their palliative home care visits and counseling sessions. On my day off, I travelled to the markets near Mysore's center with a friend I made at the Palliative Care Centre, exploring this beautiful city. 

On May 5, I travelled to a small town south of Mysore, Sargur, which houses the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital (VMH), a 100 bedded hospital with 24/7 emergency care facility serving rural and tribal communities. This week I am getting introduced to the work they are doing here, particularly the various interventions and initiatives they do in fields of HIV, TB, Palliative Care, and Mobile Health Units. Eventually I will share the sustainable goals I have generated. Overall, I am learning a lot about SVYM as a whole and I am excited to learn more and contribute! 

I am updating from my second week of interning with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, delving into the health sector. I relocated from Mysore to Sargur, about an hour and half south of Mysore, which sits the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, and many of their community health initiatives. This week, I primarily tagged along many of the different initiatives they do here, including Palliative Home Care visits, Mobile Health Unit, and various health camps they engage with the local tribal and non-tribal communities. I was tasked by my mentor with a large subset of data from the Mobile Health Unit and compiled some graphs that show trends. I also updated their Sustainable Development Goals of this year. 

Overall, I am enjoying my experience, initially it was a little tough because of changes in my diet and environment. But I became acquainted with a fellow intern and travelled back to Mysore this past Sunday! I'm excited for this upcoming week of delving into more community health initiatives. 

I am updating from my third week of interning with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) in Sargur at the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital (VMH) This week I continued to participate in more of the community health initiatives in the local community, such as various "camps" where health professionals go to different areas and assist the community on general health or eye health. I also learned more about a research study being conducted at VMH called HeLTI (Healthy Lives Trajectory Initiative), a research initiative to develop and test interventions to prevent obesity in children and promote child development. The randomized interventions with three arms (pre-conception, pregnancy and control), will reduce childhood adiposity, improve cardiovascular and metabolic health, and improve child neurodevelopmental outcomes. This is a study that is happening in many countries across the world, and I was able to engage in home visits for bio sample collection. 

I continued to work on the tasks from the week prior and in my free time, would go on walks in the town! I met lots of people and spent the weekend back in Mysore sightseeing, seeing the numerous landmarks in the area. Approaching my final week, I am preparing for my final presentation and wrapping up the activities I have been working on!

This week I did my final presentation in Sargur, reflecting on my time with SVYM, and providing feedback to the internship program they offer. I spent my last few days back in Mysore, working on small tasks with their Palliative Care Centre. I did final sightseeing activities and goodbyes to the friends I made along the way, but I was ready to come home. I learned a lot about healthcare in India and a rural setting, and also a lot about cultural influences on healthcare. This experience encouraged me to consider a thesis my senior year about the intersection of culture and healthcare in a global setting. Thank you CSAS for this opportunity!

I arrived in Bangalore on May 13. From May 13 to May 17 I spent time with my family. On May 17, I took an overnight bus to travel to Manipal/Udupi.

On May 18, I explored Udupi. I went to the Malpe Beach and the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. On May 19, I checked into the University administrative offices at MAHE. I got access to the hostel where I will be staying and I met my internship contacts. 

On May 20, I traveled by bus to a preventative breast and cervical cancer screening clinic in Hattiangadi, Karnataka which was a great experience.

Yesterday, on May 21, I traveled by bus to a community health center in Kota, Karnataka. So far, it has been a meaningful experience to understand the state of medical care in rural communities. I am very grateful for this opportunity!

Over the past week, I have visited additional rural health centers in Kumbashi and Brahmavara and the Udupi District Hospital, which treats all patients for only 10 rupees (equivalent to 12 cents in USD).

Additionally, I visited an Anganwadi with the Kasturba Medical College students to educate the children on hand-washing techniques and healthy food choices. An Anganwadi is a rural child care center established by the government of India to improve the nutritional and health status of children aged 0-6 and pregnant and lactating mothers.

I am learning a lot about how the Indian government healthcare system works and the most pressing health concerns faced by low-resource communities. Thank you for this opportunity!

I have been enjoying my time in India! This week, I attend several free psychiatry and substance de-addiction clinics around Udupi. I participated in a campaign for World No Tobacco Day and even got featured in the local newspaper. Additionally, I have started shadowing doctors in the Kasturba Hospital OB/GYN department.

I have been enjoying my time in India, and I am shocked at how fast time has flown! Last week, I spent a lot of time shadowing physicians in the Kasturba Hospital OB/GYN department. I had the opportunity to enter the OR to witness cesarean sections and hysterectomy surgeries. Additionally, I was posted in the Labor Ward, where I witnessed a live normal birth. This experience has helped me understand further the aspects of medicine I would like to incorporate in my future career as a physician. I have also learned so much about the differences in healthcare delivery in India vs the United States.

I arrived in Bengaluru, India on May 15 and took a bus to Karaikudi that night. This was my first time traveling to India by myself and also my first time using the local transportation here alone. My internship begins in June so I spent the last week with my grandparents. I also visited some of my extended family. This week was also the beginning of the Karaikudi Thiruvizha, a ten day long festival associated with the Koppudaiya Nayagi Amman Temple. I enjoyed visiting the intricate architecture and seeing the beautifully decorated deities. I am looking forward to tomorrow when the main event will occur. 

This past week, I got to attend the main event of the Karaikudi Thiruvizha, the temple car festival. I knew it would be crowded since the city's population is over 300,000 people (about five times my hometown!), but I was still surprised to see how packed the streets were, without any space to move. The wheel of the temple car was as tall as me, which was amazing to see up close.

I also went to two special birthday celebrations, an 80th and a 90th. These are really meaningful in Tamil culture and mark a couple’s completion of their family responsibilities. I met some friends I hadn’t seen in years and it was really nice to catch up and get blessings from the couples. I also visited the tombstone of my great-great-grandparents for the first time. It felt really special since most people here are cremated, but they were buried and are considered sacred in our family. I’m traveling back to Bangalore soon and am excited to start my internship. Before I start, I plan to spend the next week exploring this city a bit more. While it’s widely known for its temples and architecture, I’m hoping to also check out some local markets and clothing shops.

This is my third weekly update. Throughout the last week, I ate a lot of delicious street and restaurant food, such as dosas, parottas, pani puri and fresh sugarcane juice. I also took a day trip to Kothamangalam, a nearby town known for its grand Chettinad-style mansions. One highlight was seeing the Rao Bahadur house, which has been a popular filming location for several popular South Indian movies. I spent time exploring street shops and clothing stores. Since I don’t drive here, I’ve been walking everywhere. It's a new experience to see all the traffic on the roads and how close everything is to where I stay, as every place I would need to regularly go is within a fifteen minute walk. I also got to learn a few traditional Tamil skills! I practiced tying jasmine flower garlands, which are often worn in women’s hair and offered at temples. I also learned how to draw kolams, flour designs that are drawn outside homes every morning before anyone steps outside. This allowed me to learn a little more about Tamil culture. I traveled back to Bangalore recently, and today, I’m officially starting my internship! I’ll be using local transportation apps to get to and from work and I’m excited to see how it goes and meet everyone at the office.

This week, I started my internship. I met some of the staff and another intern. Everyone’s been really welcoming and even gave me suggestions for weekend trips like treks and palace visits. The office is connected to the Art of Living ashram, so they serve lunch, hold yoga classes, and do a weekly pooja on Thursdays, which was new to me. At home, I’ve been playing board games and watching Hindi movies. I also visited some big department stores, much larger than I expected, and found great deals on Indian earrings, which I love. For commuting, I’ve been using Uber to get to and from the office. Work-wise, I did data collection, conducted a competitive analysis of similar products, and created a presentation of my findings. I picked up some Python, improved my Excel skills, and practiced professional communication.

I've now finished two weeks at my internship. This week was very similar to last week and I was able to get into a routine. The timing is very flexible and I only have to be there around 10am. It is definitely a new experience to have to communicate with the auto drivers, especially as many don't speak English, and default to Kannada, the official language here. I went to my cousin's birthday party this week and met some new people my age which was fun. Internship-wise, I am enjoying my time and feel like I am learning new things and getting experience in the workplace, which is what I wanted to do. One challenge that I am facing that I did not think of before is not having change to pay the auto drivers. I have a lot of 100 rupees but often, I need 10s and 20s, and I also do not have a PhonePe account. Next week, I am planning to sightsee some more.

This week, I visited my uncle’s family. It was just a 25 km trip, but it took over 2 hours by cab, which is definitely much longer than in Michigan traffic. I also went on a hike near a local lake and visited a model village that showcased olden day, rural Karnataka life through detailed exhibits. I spent a lot of time with my cousins, playing board games, going on walks, watching Tamil TV shows, and catching up after many years. I had planned to visit Isha Adiyogi, but I came down with a fever over the weekend, so I hope to visit there later. At my internship, I started working with a different department. I’m focusing more on visualizing data and analyzing how users interact with the company’s app across different variables.

This week was the last week of my internship. I finished all the assignments I worked on throughout the month and created final presentations for all my analysis. I also wrote a final report about my findings and my overall experience. I rode on the metro for the first time. The station reminded me a lot of the airport, and it was very nice and clean. I explored Jayanagar, known for street shopping and food, with my cousin. We also went to the mall, which looked exactly like a U.S. mall, just with some different shops. I also went shopping at Trends, another clothing store. I saw University of Michigan merchandise there, which was really surprising! Finally, I went to the Art of Living Ashram nearby. It was very peaceful and relaxing. I went on their bus tour and ate lunch there as well. While they spoke in Hindi most of the time, the bus driver gave me a personalized tour in Tamil, so I could understand very well. I did guided meditation, saw the schools run by the Ashram and the students studying there, visited Gaushala, a shelter for cows, and visited the main temple, Vishalakshi Mantap. It was special that my name is also the same as that of the temple. 

This is my last weekly update for this summer as I will leave to the airport tomorrow. I recieved my certificate for my internship. During the last week, I visited many temples. One of the most special ones was the newly installed 108 feet statue of the Lord Venkateshwara. It was only installed last month, so I think in a couple years, it will be much more developed, as currently the statue is very nice, but the temple surrounding it has not been fully created yet. It was amazing to see a statue that was so tall, and I wonder how they were able to transport that from so far, especially through the very crowded and narrow streets of India. I also tried some more local food and visited a resort. When leaving my internship and the house I had stayed at for the whole month, it felt really bittersweet, because while I was excited to go home, I was already really missing India. When I thought about why, I realized it was because this trip was different from all my other international trips so far. I've never had this much freedom or independence to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Whether it be taking an Uber by myself or going on solo day trips by myself, these were things I've never done before, and during this vacation, I've come to realize these are some of the experiences I enjoyed the most. Overall, I really enjoyed being able to do this internship in India and experience the culture here on my own and gain a new perspective. I'm very grateful to CSAS for giving me this opportunity.

This is only my second day in India, so I don't have any major updates to share. These first four days, I am in Hyderabad, not at my job site. While here, I am visiting tourist destinations while working asynchronously through some initial onboarding tasks. Today I visited Charminar and Birla Mandir. 

I just completed my first week in India. I am now located between two towns in Andhra Pradesh. My first few days at the office, I completed orientation work, met with multiple directors of the Fish Welfare Initiative to get up to speed on what their departments were working on and got to know my coworkers. This week I’ll be with the R&D team, so today I got trained on field work protocols for a fish farm visit tomorrow. I ride on the back of my coworker’s motorbike to work every day, and we usually grab dinner together afterwards or eat on the floor of my flat. Now that I’m with my coworkers, I feel much safer and more comfortable trying new things, unlike in Hyderabad, where I had some experiences that ranged from uncomfortable to interesting. 

This is the start of my third week in India. This week I visited over ten fish farms and I was trained in taking water quality measurements. Outside of my internship, I went hiking at an ancient fort, and visited a stray dog rehabilitation center where most of the dogs had sustained horrific injuries after being hit by vehicles in the crazy Indian traffic. It was completely different from the animal centers I'm used to visiting in the U.S. 

Last week I was with the operations team, the China team, and the executive director. It was my busiest week yet and I got to work on a wide range of projects. I also had some conversations that I think will have a lasting impact on my career trajectory. This weekend we went to ride go carts and drop some people off at the airport. On the way there, we found a stray dog unresponsive on the side of the road that we tried to rescue. She died in the backseat. We also had a revolutionaries night at a local bar midway through the week to talk about factory farming and cultural traditions that harm animals. 

I leave India tonight at 11 PM to return to the U.S. I've had a great last week. I went to tea every day with my coworkers, visited a broiler farm, saw a fish harvest, and had some meaningful conversations with my coworkers that will stick with me. 

I'm so happy I came, and that was only possible because of the SiSA fellowship. 

Chintamani is a town located on the outskirts of Bangalore, with a huge hill situated just in the distance. This is where I stayed during the majority of my trip in India. I lived in my ancestral home, where my mother and her siblings grew up. The houses here are built with concrete and granite, with solid wood doors. Most of the homes have a garden in their backyard with flowers, tropical fruit, and various animal visitors that must be staved off, such as monkeys, dogs, snakes, and lizards.

I discovered fruit to be a symbol of respect and kinship, as whenever I met anyone new or visited their home in the area, it was a requirement to deliver a bag of fruit as a gift. In return, they’d offer their own fruit cut-up or sweets, which you must eat. I felt an instant sense of community, as everyone I met in Chintamani was excited to converse and would talk about my family’s history in the town.

I spent the week working in the Chintamani government hospital in the women and children branch. The services at a government hospital are provided free of charge. Health insurance to cover fees is still used by individuals who want to access private healthcare. For the immunizations of pregnant women and their children, there is a clear system to make sure every person individual in need is immunized. There are ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists), who are assigned to particular extensions or neighbourhoods, and these are health inspecting officers who cross-check anything these workers do. The ASHA workers, do a headcount and inventory of every individual in their assigned area, and report this to the government hospital, so they can make sure to provide immunizations to everyone in need. I was able to shadow the immunization process, and talk to patients about their experience with the immunization. The patients received a demonstration of how the immunizations would be administered, symptoms to notice in their child and the function of each of the immunizations they are given. I also spoke to the nurses about how they track all the patients and their children, and learned they used an application in addition to a pen/paper system, all just for tracking the immunizations of the individuals pre-natally and their child. I was also educated on the cold storage system, and how vaccines are transported to the Chintamani government hospital and when necessary to very rural areas, too far outside the main town.

I also traveled to Bangalore during this week, which is a city where villages collide with industrialization. I found it interesting that numerous of these villages are located in the metropolitan area, like pockets of time travel. My family and I did some shopping and visited a park where the entire park was one huge banyon tree. With a banyon tree, it’s hard to tell which was the first tree trunk since the roots travel down from the branches and intertwine underground together forming a single large root system.

While continuing to work in the hospital, something that piqued my interest was PPIUDC (Copper Intrauterine Device) insertion after births. This is a form of contraception inserted into the uterus. During a normal delivery or C-section of a fetus, an IUDC is inserted into the patient. This is in accordance to the Target-Oriented Family Planning Policy. While interviewing patients, some know that a PPIUDC was inserted and some do not. This policy has been criticized for its ethicality, as it encourages healthcare workers to convince patients to undergo sterilization or PPIUDC insertion without them clearly knowing what the procedure entails and the risks associated with it. This is a policy heavily implemented in government hospitals but not in private hospitals. During interviews, some of the patients were somewhat educated on their contraceptive options if they received schooling beyond high school, or were informed by their local ASHA workers, but the majority of the women did not know about their contraceptive options beyond just condoms. I was informed the reasoning is to address population rates and health risks associated with close together pregnancies, but the patients need to be properly informed to not raise ethical concerns. Many of these women, according to the nurses, will remove the PPIUDC a few months after their birth, to either have another child or use an alternative form of contraception.

I traveled to a high-altitude desert in the northernmost India known as Ladakh. My family and I primarily stayed in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, situated 11,500 feet above sea level. The beauty of Ladakh is unmatched by its towering mountains and stunning monasteries. We were able to travel through the mountains on smooth roads and rented a motorcycle, which was insanely fun. We also rode ATVs in an area with sand dunes and went zip-lining in Nubra Valley. It was a bonding experience with my family, which I was grateful for. I loved seeing all the animals there, which appeared to be the fluffier versions of the animals I was used to seeing in southern India. The monasteries had such a rich history, reflecting the blending of several cultures near the border. One of my favorite places we visited was Mirror Lake, a famous setting for the end of the movie Three Idiots, a popular Hindi film. The lake was perfectly clear, situated between orange colored mountains, with a base of flat, colorful rocks. It was like an oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Since I arrived, I’ve gotten a lot done. I’ve been to the Textile Mill in Ahmdavad, the NMACC in Mumbai, Dharavi tour, and I’m currently in Kumarakom, Kerala at the Coconut Lagoon Resort. 

This photo is just from the first week. I’ve come down with a fever, so hopefully with some cold compress, medication, and electrolytes I’ll get myself through it. My guess is that with all the traveling I’ve been doing, and also the Dharavi tour, a dust allergy turned into a fever. 

Hello from Pune!

After what felt like the end of the world when my visa was rejected not just once, but twice, I managed to get my visa and fly to India. However, after an emergency landing in Paris and many, many more hiccups along the way, I finally made it to Maher on May 31st! Maher, the non-profit I chose to volunteer at is an organization led by Sr. Lucy Kurien, the founder of a community and interfaith organization for abused and destitute women and children, headquartered in Pune. I chose Maher because of its social impact and I am so glad that I did! 

From the moment the Maher team picked me up from the airport, I felt welcomed and immediately accepted. Despite eventual car trouble, causing us to have to push the Maher van out of the middle of a busy Pune street, I met Saanchi, a girl my age and a nurse at Maher. Saanchi made sure I was fed and well rested, making three omelets throughout the course of the trip from Mumbai to Pune. 

Once I reached the Maher center I would be staying at in a small village called Vadhu about 45 minutes from Pune, I was swarmed by the eager and welcoming faces of the women who stayed there. 

They were kind, funny, and so curious about who I was, where I came from, and why I chose Maher. We spent many hours chatting.

Now, its only been 2 days since I have been in India but I am loving it. I am already hoping to return to Maher again after this summer! 

So far, Maher has been a dream. The children I am working with are some of the kindest, sweetest kids I have ever met. Their curiosity and resilience is honestly awe inspiring. 

Unfortunately, I was met with a rather silly accident. While walking around the center, I tripped and fell. It looks like I may have torn a ligament in my ankle. The swelling was quite scary. Saanchi took me to a private hospital in Pune, about 30 minutes from the village center I was staying at. Here, despite the long wait times, the doctor was very kind and assured me that my leg would be okay after a few weeks. However, he did not take an X-ray. This scared me a bit as I am quite meticulous about my health. I insisted he take one. Luckily, the X-ray was clean and my foot began to heal quickly. I was able to walk on it without a limp after just a few days.

Despite my silly accident, I was notified by Sister Lucy - the head of Maher, that I would be getting some new roommates soon: Three Swiss medical students.

To my surprise they were all close to my age, one was 22 (Leo), and the other two were 24 (Sebastien and Jeremy). The girls at the center seemed to think they were quite funny looking (Jeremy had long hair - quite uncommon for boys at the center).

While I was intimidated by them at first, they invited me to play cards with them one night after dinner. I happily joined and we all stayed up for hours playing a new game they taught me: Rumicube.

Furthermore, I began teaching English classes at the center for many of the girls who wanted to learn. I was given a classroom and lots of chalk to teach first, a basic English class at 10:30 AM and an advanced class in the evening. I was happy to see that many of the girls were so eager to learn they brought notebooks and diligently participated in class.

A week in, I’m loving it.

Now it has been some time at Maher, I have nearly memorized the names of all of the children at the center I am staying at. It took some effort and time, but now I can confidently say that if you were round up all 200(ish) of them and line them up, I’d be able to name them all! I’m quite proud of myself if you couldn’t tell.

My English classes have also been going great. Many of the older girls in the advanced classes have started to tell me about their career aspirations and goals. Lots of them want to join the police force—for many children in the village, being a police officer is a very stable and reliable job. With college admissions coming up soon, many of the girls are nervous about their interviews. I started teaching another class later in the day to ensure the girls knew what to expect during and interview and what questions they would be asked. I made sure they knew that they must dress professionally. One of my favorite moments this week was when I held a mock interview during one of the class. Here, I asked one of the girls what some of her weaknesses were in which she responded with “I am lazy.” This earned a laugh from everyone in the classroom, me included, where I had to subsequently explain that even if that were true, it is not something to say during an interview...

My roommates, Leo, Sebastien, and Jeremy have also been joining me in various tasks around the center. We love to play cricket with the boys as much as we can. I will say this does entail lots of me watching them play cricket as my leg is not entirely healed yet.

Overall, getting to know many of the older girls has been the highlight of this trip. Back home in Seattle, I work for the University of Washington Diabetes Research team. At Maher, one of the girls had been self-administering insulin shots throughout the day to manage her Type1 Diabetes. It has been so enlightening being able to see how she manages her diabetes versus how it is managed in the USA.

Lastly, I have been eating well here at Maher. Evey meal is quite controlled and farm to table. I have okra curry with potatoes, lentils, and rice. While it is quite good, I am craving some meat… Hopefully next week I will find the time to go into the city and eat a massive Burger!

Now that I have been here from some time, I am loving the atmosphere at Maher. I’ve been visiting other centers and specifically taken a liking to Maher Vatsalyadam. This center, similar to the size of the one I am staying at house not only just kids but also mentally ill women. Here, I’ve loved working with the women to develop reading, writing and communication skills.

On top of this, my foot seems to be healing quite well. I’m finally able to freely walk around without a brace to keep me up.

My roommates are ready to depart now and travel the rest of India after staying at Maher for two weeks. They have been very fun to be around, and it has been nice to be around younger people who speak fluent English. I will miss them and their deck of cards a lot.

After the boys left, a new group of roommates moved into their rooms. They, like the Swiss medical students were also a group of students but from a monastery. I had never met catholic priest before, let alone live with them. They were all incredibly kind but went to bed right after dinner... no cards for tonight.

Otherwise, I will continue to teach 2-3 classes a day for many of the girls at the center I am at. I finished my book and gifted it to Nandini. I realized that I would be able to buy a million copies of that book in my lifetime so why not let her keep it to read and learn from. I hope she likes it as much as I did. However, having finished the book, I was left without a book to read and without wifi. After class one day, I decided to stay back in the classroom and snoop through the endless shelves of old books. I spent some time cleaning and organizing them into English, marathi, and hindi before finding “The Lowlands,” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Its been only one day and I am loving the book so much.

Lastly, unremarkably, a rat found its way into my room during one night and I had quite the panic attack in that moment. The heat and lack of reliable water and electricity was getting to me. In the moment, a rat scurrying around my already small living quarters was terrifying. I slept outside below the stars that night, deciding that being bitten by mosquitos was better than being attacked by a large rat.

Hello, with sadness, from Pune.

Now that I am set to leave Maher in a few days, I am filled with both sadness and joy. For one, after I leave I will be able to see my mother and meet her in Sri Lanka to see some family after a long month away from her. However, I will be sad to leave many of the girls and children I grew so close with at Maher.

Over the past month, I have stepped into the role of didi (older sister) across the center. The way many of the children would call to me, jumping up and down excitedly yelling “Opal didi, Opal didi,” will forever be one of my fondest memories about traveling to India. Many of the girls were so inspiring and strong, the epitome of resilience and growth. Many of them brought in by the police or by hospitals for breaking the laws or being surrendered by their parents chose to stay at Maher and persevere. I will never forget them.

Today, to honor my stay at Maher, the children prepared a small ceremony for me where they danced, sang and showed off their newly acquired English skills. It brought to me a blubbery mess of tears to see the girls who didn’t know a word of English just last month speak in full sentences to an audience. I was so proud of them in that moment and I wanted to stay with them forever.

However, I will say, I was rather tired of the okra and lentils and couldn’t wait to get to the airport and enjoy a large McDonald’s meal. Over the last few weeks, I think I had lost about ten pounds. Maybe it was the stress or the clean diet but I am so eager to see a Big Mac again.

Finally, I finished “The Lowlands.” It was a phenomenal book that I think I will recommend to everyone once I return home. The setting of being in India and reading the book was unmatched and so immersive I felt deeply connected to the story. My next read is “Mafia Queens of Mumbia,” a book a sheepishly snagged from the library and “forgot” to replace.

I hope to return to India and Maher soon. This experience has been much more than lifechanging. I can barely put it into words.