India

This country is one of the most amazing countries I've visited. The food was amazing, the people were really personable, and the country was so colorful! I went south to Pondicherry where we visited immaculate temples and different markets. I also did an overnight stay in a Dalit ("Untouchable") village, which was the highlight of my Indian experience. It was during this visit that we had the opportunity to talk to Indian people on a personal level. I was shocked to see how black some of the villagers were and how some of them looked like they could be apart of my family! I learned how the Untouchables were discriminated in a similar fashion as blacks were in America. It was also very interesting to notice how the higher class Indians were typically of a much lighter complexion than then the lower class and Untouchables. The town put on a big performance for us and then gave us a tour of the village. Seeing inside some of their huts and hearing stories and talking with the villagers was a priceless experience that I will never forget.

For many SASers, the culture shock and way of life in India was overwhelming. It is apparent that the country is impovershed and is underdeveloped, but I feel that many people wanted to close their eyes to what was going on around them, instead of opening them to see how the world really is. I've been to really poor undeveloped countries before, but I think for many SASers it was their first time experiencing such in your face poverty and they didn't know how to react to it. I think that this visit to India should be looked at as an eye-opening experience to the realities of the world that we live in today. They should have left the country with a better understanding of how priviledged we are to live in such an amazing country that is America. Even with all the wrong that our country has imposed on others and has done to this world, I still love America and all the opportunities that our country has to offer, it's unlike any other.