An Affair to Remember

You Can’t Carry it With You if You Want to Survive

Words cannot even begin to explain the joy that I felt and the tears that I shed and the relief that washed over me and the comfort that blanketed me and the love that astounded me when I embraced my mom and dad today. Luckily, I am someone who loves change and new adventures, and I rarely get homesick, which is a blessing. However, seeing my mom and dad and being with them reminds me how much I love them and what a blessing they are in my life. I mean, they came all the way to Kolkata, India just to see me. This vacation has been extremely challenging for them and quite an experience, but they just kept telling me, we just wanted to see you. Such an unconditional and overwhelming love that I have in my parents.

This visit hasn’t been what either my parents or I expected, but isn’t that the epitome of India

for you? So in actuality, they have experienced the “true” India. To clarify, dad received the

traditional blessing of food poisoning while he was in Jaipur. He was quite sick, to be serious,

and ended up back in the hotel room with a doctor. He has strict instructions as to what he can

and can’t eat, and he has to take rest frequently. Unfortunately, this means much hotel time in

Kolkata and little Kolkata time. As disappointed as we all were the he couldn’t see parts of

Kolkata, I was able to spend the most alone time and us time with my parents that I probably

won’t be able to do for a while, even when home. We were all able to see the Mother House,

which is where Mother Teresa lived and where she is now buried, and we all absolutely loved it.

It was an incredibly beautiful experience, and this immense peace washed over us all as we

walked through the door to be greeted by the women in blue and white.

The rest of the day, dad went back to the hotel to lie down, and mom and I went to the Victoria

Memorial, ate lunch at Flurry’s, walked in the Park Street Cemetery, and then she came and

listened to a talk given by one of my elders at Prayasam. It was rewarding to show her around

the area where I go to school and to have her truly understand my blogs now that she’s seen

where I live. Even though my parents and I are extremely close, we are connected even more by the

bond that we share by both coming to India and seeing India. My mom was even able to ride the metro,

which I have been humorously dreaming of since I came to India. I spent the rest of the night with my

parents in the hotel, and even though some might think that this sound boring or unfortunate because

they didn’t get to see Kolkata, I treasured those moments with them, and I truly think that is the most

time I will be able to spend alone with them, even after I get back from India. In fact, even though I

would never wish food poisoning on my father, I was thankful that I had so much intimate time with my

parents just discussing our lives and being with each other. So many times, we as human beings find it

essential to constantly be moving, but this allows us little time to just be with each other. I rarely receive

this gift anymore, and I was able to savor just being with my parents in India, what more could a girl ask

for?

It was such a shifting experience to show my parents India. They were understandably overwhelmed by

India and constantly amazed at the chaos and various characteristics that comprise what India has been

for so long and what it is today. They continued to comment on how proud they were of me,

and it was such a strange feeling because I had never really thought about it. I knew India was

going to be a difficult country to live in, but then again, I chose it so it was my responsibility to

make the most of it. I don’t think that I realize right now, how much of an effect that India will

have on me when I come home. Sure, right now I’m a little burnt out and having my parents with me

was so comforting, I do miss home more than before, but India will always be mine. It will never leave

me, and I would never want it to. Anywhere you travel that is different from where you are is going to

be challenging, but the life that you live there will be forever changed. I will never wrap my mind around

India, and I can only hope that it will leave me with hope and extreme love for those around me. I didn’t

come to India to “find myself”, but India did find me. It has searched through every fiber of my being

and has and will continue to use me until there is nothing left. I still make mistakes every day, but I am

also learning from them greatly. My parents so graciously gave me a necklace in anticipation for my 21^st

birthday. It is breathtaking and handmade with an inscription given to the artisan from my mom. The

inscription reads, “We cannot all do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” This will

follow me for the rest of my life.