During our daily meditation at school, one's mind is supposed to be blank. Mine was instead enlivened with thoughts about coming back home tomorrow. If I jumped into the air and stayed there, and the earth turned below me at a thousand miles per hour and I flew over a continent and an ocean, I'd tumble into my time zone in nine and a half hours. And I wouldn't have had to even try, because the world would have rotated for me.
As a young poetic genius once sang,
"the time is going,
ticking on and on,
everybody's rushing". And we don't have a choice in the matter. (Except that it slows when one moves through space, as Einstein theorized. This may be validated by anyone who has ever flown sleepless on a transoceanic airplane.) To me, that lack of control is both blessing and curse.
The past six weeks have flown by and crawled past like a winged lobster. I can't imagine how this experience, so lodged in the future for so many months, could nearly be over. Although the grass is always greener on the other side of the ocean and I can't wait to eat a hamburger and pizza, I'll always miss this nearly completed opportunity that I gained. I thought I had mainly positive feelings about returning home, but while packing my luggage, I realized that my emotions were much more mixed. Although I could really go for a PB&J right now, was I ready to give up chapati already? Or, more importantly, a new family?
Whatever my true feelings, my plane's departure is approaching--slowly or quickly, I'm not sure. I can't wait to share more of my experiences with you, dear readers, friends, and family, when I come home.
To my fellow Pune People: you transformed yourselves from 2D Facebook profiles into 3D people into 4D friends that will last throughout time in an incredibly short 6 week span. I will miss every single one of you. Come visit us northeasterners!
Lastly, thank you to a lot of people and organizations for giving us, and paying for, one of the best opportunities I might ever get. Our Hindi teachers were incredible, Lauren our Resident Director ensured that we were happy and safe, and a huge thank you (you might even call it the Indian term--a felicitation) to the iEarn-India team, NSLI-Y, and the Department of State. And thanks to you readers as well.
फिर मिलेंगे, मेरे दोस्तों! बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद।
एरिक फ़्लिगाफ़
See you later, my friends! Thank you very much.
Erik Fliegauf
