Preconceptions

March 23, 2019: Fresh out of college, I dropped my American life to live in India for 9 months. I now work here as an English Teacher.

On the flight over to Dehli, I was ecstatic. Ready for an introspective change in my life, I flew over with a beautiful conception of India, informed by my last visit in 2017. This Facebook post sums up those feelings:

“The people of Gujarat choose two things—happiness and relationships—over all else. Food comes at a close third. There is an unspoken but undeniable warmth to everyone I met on my journey—family and strangers alike. From shadowing an inspiring gynecologist to... meditating at a Buddhist temple with strangers-come-confidants to dancing under a sun shrouded by kites with cousins-come-brothers, I had a life-changing trip. I learned not only my professional goals, but my origin. Thanks for the memories.” I spent three weeks shadowing physicians and living with my family in Gujarat. I saw everything from a neurosurgery to a cesarian section. Medical treatment plans are usually spoken in English, while intimate personal conversations are had in Gujarati, the local language. Since I am fluent in Gujarati, I observed complete bilingual patient-encounters. In addition to the medicine, I was intrigued and enamored by the culture of the doctors and patients I observed.

I felt deeply intimate with Gujarat. Calling it a second home isn’t enough. I fit in spiritually, culturally, and linguistically. Sometimes, it felt like my true home—like I had forgotten it, even though I never really knew it before this visit.

So when I applied to the Fulbright Program, I applied with the intention to explore the country even deeper than I already had. I explained that I was “curious and yearning to experience the color, customs, and different ways of life I have learned about, but never experienced myself.” I wanted to teach young Indian kids, and I wanted to learn their culture from them.

This was the Dhruv that entered India. Much changed, and continues to change.