From buses, beaches, auto rickshaws, slums, restaurants, hotels and more, there were many places where my classmates and I took the opportunity to talk about the many great, and not so great, experiences we were having in India. During pre-trip on a long bus ride on our way from Agra to Jaipur, our classmate and friend introduced us to how experiences were shared at a camp she had worked at: they would share their rose, thorn, and bud. The rose was the favourite thing you had done so far, the thorn was your most unpleasant experience, and the bud was something you were looking forward to. Now that my India adventure is over and I have had over a month to reflect on my trip since I’ve been back in Canada, I will share my rose, thorn, and bud. I spent just over ten weeks in India where I delighted and endured many different experiences, but I will focus on one experience for each topic.
I’ll begin with my favourite experience, which is so hard because there were so many! The candidates include: a bicycle tour through Old and New Delhi, petting elephants at an elephant clinic, riding motorized scooters along the coast of Andaman Islands, visiting the beautiful Taj Mahal, visiting my Ivey exchange friend at his home with his family in Mumbai, going to various restaurants to try different Indian dishes, and many more. However, the one that stands out for me was visiting Dharavi — one of the largest slums in the world. This wasn’t necessarily an enjoyable experience, but I chose this because what we saw was truly unbelievable. According to National Geographic, as many as 18,000 people cram into a single acre within this slum. The living conditions were unspeakable. There was garbage everywhere and the homes were tiny shacks stacked on top of each other. I remember walking through this one section through what I would describe as a small alleyway (because the ‘homes’ were so close together), ducking several times from the many overhanging wires and stepping over numerous dirty pools of water (sometimes even dogs) as I walked by dozens of homes within arms-length on either side of me. Despite these deplorable conditions, the people in these slums make incredible, quality products — from beautiful textiles to various leather products — that are eventually exported around the world generating Dharavi an estimated $1 billion annually — hard to believe, I know. I really valued this experience because it has allowed me to stop worrying and stressing as much about the little things and better enjoy and take advantage of the privileged life I have.
Despite having so many great experiences in India, it was really tough adapting to living and working life because it contrasted greatly with what I was used to in Canada. Consequently, there were many challenges that I faced and had to adjust to. Top candidates: language barriers (I’m truly amazed I didn’t get lost with one of the many auto rickshaws), garbage everywhere, people everywhere, not having easy access to food you’re used to (the first time we went to the grocery store, it was literally shoulder to shoulder busy with very little appealing food), people frequently harassing you for money (although I made friends with a six-year old girl named Rosie who hung around close to our hotel) and crazy amounts of traffic that never stops honking! Overall, many of these contributed to my greatest dislike, which was the general level of chaos that seemed to be everywhere. I remember when I got back home having such a sense of peace because everything seemed so organized, clean, and quiet relative to India. But, the restless disorder was part of what made this trip so unique and interesting.
Looking back at my experiences both touring, working, and living in India, I’ve noticed the many big and small challenges I faced and overcame. Doing so has allowed me to grow in many ways, both personally and professionally. So, the thing I’m looking forward to is seeing how to apply what I’ve learned to situations in the future, whether it’s in my career, at school, or in my personal life.