Pre-Departure

     Right now I almost feel the same way a third grade student I tutor feels about India.When I told my tutee, De-Nario that I would not be able to continue tutoring him this year because I would be studying abroad in India he gave me a quizzical, yet curious look. The he asked, "What's India?" 

     Though I've been reading about India, watching Indian movies, and tuning into Indian news for the last few weeks, and though I have been eager to visit the country for years, entrigued by its Bollywood tradition, Hinduism, and its many philosophers and philosophical traditions, including the Ghandi family, India still doesn't feel real. I still am asking myself, "What is India?"

      My drive to go to India, my intellectual, and personal interest and curiosity, can all be summed up in that one simple question. Yet the beauty of the question and my feelings behind it and reasons for asking it are much more complex than they first seem. De'Nario merely had no idea what India was. He was content with knowing it was a country. I want to feel, breather, live, and experience India. I seek to learn about the country intimately. The question, "What is India?" is different for every person because every person, Indian or not, has a different experience of India. The main goal I have during my time in India is to learn about what India means for as many different people as I can.