Author: albert

hi all,

this is albert checking in as mom said i have to (just kidding, bharti). actually, i was procrastinating a little bit because i wanted to try to get some other posts out on the blog before i wrote this message in order to make my posts seem sequential. i have some thoughts which i had written in my journal on the flight back, but i’ll add them to the blog later.

i think many of you guys echo the thoughts that are going through my head. i have gone to india and come back. i have been affected; my life has changed. but i keep asking myself: how? how have i changed? i don’t know yet. i’m still trying to figure out which version of albert came back to the states.

i wish i could verbalize it better, but i can’t. so instead i’ll write about things that have happened, as opposed to thoughts that i’ve had. on a side note, great stories and thoughts from everyone. i think it brings me back a little closer to india when i hear some of the stories. i think one of the worst things we could do is forget…

anyway, i write this at a normal hour for me, 10:30 PM. and normal has been the exception. after one normal day when we first got back from our flight, i apparently decided to revert into jet lag. i’ve been getting up at 5 and 6 am for the past few days when i normally get up at 8 am (after a struggle, no less), and i could’ve gotten up sooner if it wasn’t for the fact that nobody else would have been at work that early. then for the past two days, i’ve been so tired that as soon as i got back from work i’ve fallen asleep until the next morning. the good news is that i’ve been fairly healthy, which unfortunately only started a couple of days before we left india. but good health is definitely something for me to happy about.

a story you would appreciate, bharti. bharti’s talked to me about how people in india are separated at most by three degrees of separation (instead of the six in america). i come back to work on monday. i’m talking with some co-workers and there’s one person listening who i don’t recognize. i figure, oh, we’ve been hiring recently so she was probably hired while we were gone. later i am reminded that i did meet her once before, when she was interviewing with our team. she says, ‘oh, i heard you hung out with simran for new year’s eve.’ i was like, ‘what?! how did you…?’ turns out simran had im’ed with dinesh, who also works with lavanya, and all three are or have in the past worked at ameriquest and are from india. it seems that news of my vacation traveled back to the states faster than my plane could take me!

ok, thanks all for listening to my excessive keystrokes…

albert

i believe i am 13.5 hours ahead of the rest of the world, so it’s dec. 29 my time.

a little more on the music of india. some of the other btc’ers who went on the trip to south africa said that it reminded them of the african tribal music. everyone enjoys music and dance in india, not just the few who are bold enough (like in america). it is very refreshing to see people savoring the sounds and feelings of song and dance. i believe it was shritl (sorry, i totally know i’m going to mispell everyone’s names) who said that dancing is a form of meditation. i have to agree. the feeling of pure spirit and freedom that can be achieved by dance is amazing.

countless times while we have been here, all we needed was someone with a drum and a few people clapping, and everyone just broke out into dance. the kids at manav sadhna welcomed us with a rousing dance that just screamed happiness and joy. at nirali’s house the other night, everyone did their best girba(?) impression.

just before we left the blind school on monday, the kids packed into a room, a few people manned the drums, and one of the elders crooned out a wonderful song with accompaniment from the children. it was beautiful. the energy and emotion was indescribable. the children were so happy to have us there and were already asking when we would be back. it is very sad to think that although i would like to see them again, chance and circumstance may say that i never see them again. i don’t know what the future holds, so it is impossible to say, but there are many places left to travel, many things beckoning back home, and many forks in the road. hopefully, i will return. because the people in india aren’t asking me when i will return out of courtesy; they are asking out of love.

yesterday, we made visits to sam vedana (i know, i know, mispellings everywhere) and utthan, the mentally handicapped school. this was actually my first visit to sam vedana. some of the others had been there before to paint, and i saw the fruits of their labors. people had painted some of the walls with lively pinks and green pastels, in a kind of southwestern color scheme. those walls looked much better than the older, cracked walls in older parts of the school. and i know how hard the btc’ers worked because i would see them come home with paint all over their clothes and skin and hair. i’m sure the kids appreciated everything you did for them, guys. they sure loved it the time when i visited.

time for an internet intermission…