Alright, we all know that I am not the best with communicating via technology (phone calls, texts, facebook, email, etc.). So for those that I have not kept in the loop, I am leaving for India on March 27th and I will be there until June 12th.
11 weeks in India.
The first 6 weeks will be spent with my dear friend Satpreet, visiting her relatives who live in the northern region of the country and exploring areas like Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Mcleod Ganj, and Goa.
The other 5 weeks I will (hopefully) spend on a farm in Dehradun. And do a little bit of travel on the weekends. And if that doesn't work out, well there's always good old WWOOF to help me out.
What's my motivation for going to India?
Well, to be honest I'm not entirely sure. In a way this trip has sort of fallen in my lap.
The idea of India only came about a few months ago as I was trying to plan a different kind of trip.
I was hoping to make my way to Lebanon, which has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and spend somewhere between 6-9 months working with a ministry or non-profit of some sort.
During that time, the idea of going to India with Satpreet surfaced. I thought that I could spend a month traveling India before making my way to the Middle East. But two events in the States sprung up that changed that: a family reunion in June and a wedding in August.
This family reunion is not just any old family reunion. It is a Barkett family reunion.
I only get to see my relatives on my Dad's side of the family when there is a wedding...meaning on average I see them once every 5 years maybe?
But it's not just that. This is an opportunity to learn more about my family history. My heritage. My roots. It's a family reunion including any/all Lebanese Barketts, especially those related to Saiid Azzam Barkett (my great grandfather who came to the United States from Marjeyoun, Lebanon).
This, to me, is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I can choose to visit Lebanon in the future (as long as the country remains stable). And I most definitely will. But I do not have the same control over an event such as this reunion.
The other event that draws me back to the States is the wedding of one of my best friends in California. I would not in a million years consider missing it.
If it were only one of these events that I would be attending then I would simply spend the money it would cost to fly back and then return to the country I would be working in. But it is not. So, instead of embarking on a long awaited journey back to the Middle East, I am traveling to India.
As the day of departure nears and I research more of India, my excitement grows. There is so much diversity in the country. So much beauty. From the mountains of Himachal Pradesh to the beaches of Goa to the backwaters of Kerala and the desert of Rajasthan. Sikkhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam.
So much to see and experience in one country.
