December 30.

So here we are with day 3 and it’s definitely safe to say I’m experiencing a slight amount of culture shock. I’d rather end on a lighter note, so I’ll go to the heavy talks about culture shock before I get to the light and frothy hilarity of recent culture shock. Tomorrow will definitely be lighter and talk more about what we’ve seen and done so far, but this needs to be said.

If there’s anything I’m truly learning from this experience, it’s how assumptions do no justice to the real stories in the world. Even in the smaller scale, I noticed how I came into this trip with assumptions about how it would be these first few days and that this group might not mesh as well together once we’re actually taken out of our natural elements and into the culture we’ve been trying our hardest to learn about. I’m so glad to say I was wrong about both of these things.

If it wasn’t for my body physically being exhausted from all the energy put into each different adventure (along with the slight irritation in my throat from the overwhelming amount if pollution in the air here in Amritsar), I’d be in better form that I’ve ever been in. This trip has been so much fun and different from anything I’ve ever done and I know I can thank this group for that.

We all get along fabulously. We have a generally good, yet weird time together. I’m 900% sure we’ve talked about anything and everything under the sun, from politics to memes. I think one of the best parts is that this group honestly rolls with everything. We don’t get too caught up in anything, we’re all trying to learn and have fun. We wait for each other and have gotten to know each other beyond the capacity of just sitting together for the class sessions we had during the semester. It’s an odd group that I don’t always get but if it wasn’t for the eccentric nature and results that occur when we’re all together, I know dealing with this environment would be so much more difficult.

We’ve seen some pretty intense stuff in these last few days: We’ve seen at least 130 homeless dogs since we’ve arrived, homeless people tapping on windows of your car/van at stop lights, traffic that literally makes no sense, various huts and shacks along the countryside, and even sides of history that honestly go unknown to most Americans.

Today we saw the place where innocent Indians were trapped and shot at by British soldiers.

Yes they were peacefully planning some sort of protest, but there was no need to send an army to open fire on hundreds of people. Thousands of bullets were fired on unarmed people, at least 20 of them missed and hit the walls of the area.

120 people died because they preferred trying to escape the rain of bullets by jumping into a super deep well.

The thing that baffled me the most is that I really came to understand that saying about how history is written by winners. And I honestly was disheartened by realizing how little I truly know about the world. All I know that I learned throughout most of my academic career is centralized around Western Europe or America. Such an absolute tragedy to realize there are probably so many stories like this around the world about the cruelty and harsh realities of the past that has resulted in the present we currently enjoy. Even just thinking about how Western Culture preserves its history compared to what we saw was absolutely shocking.

This was the ruins of a summer palace for a Maharaja. Ruins. In America, I’m pretty sure we’ve exploited the hell out of making places like some historical figures’ birthplaces or hometowns but at least the funding is available to keep that part of history alive. Yes it’s only a summer palace, but then one even goes to even think about how Versailles is kept in such amazing condition even though it wasn’t a place French Royalty always resided in. I honestly just didn’t know how to process any of this that we saw.

A part of growing up is learning more about the world and I’m definitely doing that but I guess I just didn’t expect to realize just how much I didn’t know about the rest of the world. This is exactly what I wanted and I don’t know how to process it. I’ve gotten my first taste at the stories I’ve been itching to know and I’m whelmed (not overwhelmed or underwhelmed, just making a Young Justice reference.) This trip is going to change me and I honestly do have more than enough stories than I know what to do with. These videos and podcasts will be quite the task but I’ll make them work to the best of my availability and power. But before I go to rest up, I’ll end on the lighter bit of culture shock.

Apparently, in New Delhi, the drinking age is 25. Literally none of us can believe it. We’ve said it over and over just putting our disbelief at how high the drinking age is. It’s putting a slight wrench in our plans for the new years but we’ll figure something out I’m sure. I just think it’s hilarious how that’s the biggest concern currently. I find our group regularly returning to our just disbelief at the age, not so much the intensity of the trip’s rigors or the pollution in the air. It’s funny to think of everything, that’s what truly puts us in shock. It’s the little things that make things great, I’m loving how the big and little things of this trip are coming along and making this an experience I’ll never forget.

That’s all for now since I’ve gotta get ready to head to the train at like 4am tmrw. Til next time! ~KA