Colors

Normally, I would add some excuse about how I am too busy to write a blog, but at this point in my exchange, is it even worth it anymore? It feels good to be writing again, I have been away from my pen and paper for a little too long. Like I said I would in my last post, I made sure that some adventure founds my way in the last two months. Hopefully, in the next paragraphs I can convince you all that I did my best.

Some of my close friends and family may know I am not much of a traveler and enjoy my days off tucked away at home. Traditional YES abroad style however would dictate that I should go against my urges and push myself out of my comfort zone. About a month ago, from March 15-19th, I traveled to the most holy place of Sikhism, and very common place of pilgrimage for Sikhs around the world, the golden temple in Amritsar, Punjab.

I will try to provide some insight into Sikhism for my American readers that may not be familiar with the religion. Sikhism is a relatively small monotheistic religion, that believes strongly in the dedication of oneself to the creator, to reach unity with god. These philosophies are based on the teachings off the first of the ten Sikh gurus, Guru Nanak. These values were then written down, in the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Saheb, which was declared to be the eternal and final spiritual guide for Sikhs by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

I traveled with two friends, one of which was a Sikh, which provided insight that I felt would have been lost if I was just observing from a regular tourist’s perspective. I was able to absorb the culture complexes of Sikhism in a much more direct way, something that the regular traveler would have missed. For these reasons, a large “thank you” must go out to the people who made this trip possible, you know who you are. The temple, as its name implies, is plated with solid gold. It is surrounded by a holy pool which adds to the already beautiful ambiance of the area. In addition to seeing the temple, we also visited a famous historical site called Jallianwala Bagh, in which the British massacred throngs of Punjabis. The tragedy was a pivotal point in Indian history which only further aroused India in its struggle for autonomy. I also viewed the newly erected partition museum which brought to light the horrors of the divide between India and Pakistan. The trip was a fantastic learning experience in which I was able to see Punjabi culture in a light I hadn’t been exposed to.

Hence the title to this blog post, the long anticipated and my now favorite holiday, Holi, came the past month. On Thursday, the 21st of March, India burst into colors to celebrate the first day of spring and to wish for a strong harvest in the months to come. In India, Holi is celebrated with a large gathering in which friends come together and throw paint on each other. In the streets of Ahmedabad however, it doesn’t end with just paint. I was also pelted with water and mud, and sometimes a concoction of all three together. I was also tossed into a mud pit (more like a wet stone pit) even though I struggled, it was no use as I was severely outnumbered. Holi is, by far, my favorite Indian celebration to date, even though I successfully ruined two shirts and had to keep pulling color out of my ears and nose a week thereafter.

The time in the blog has come where we get to delve into the complex and unorganized plethora of objects that are my emotions. (Wohoo!!) It seems I finally must address the subject of leaving my home here and travelling back to Colchester. In early May, I will be returning to the states and be leaving the life I have created. It is no lie that I am not at all looking forward to it. It feels to me, that even though I have been in this country for almost a year now, I have just started to grow into my own figure. I feel like for most exchange students, the first half of the year is used to become comfortable with their new surroundings, and for this reason, even though it is the end, it still somehow feels like the beginning. I want to end with one message that arose as I was reading my journal entries from when I first left America. What I wrote then was, “Why did I do this? Leaving a position I always desired at school, fantastic friends, and promising music definitely wasn’t my best decision.” It turns out that I am in fact not right about everything, and my exchange ended up becoming the most gratifying journey I have experienced.

I’ll leave it there. As the exchange winds to a close sadly so does this blog. There will be another post next weekend, featuring another trip across the country and a conclusion on my time spent teaching. After that, a few weeks later, I will create a goodbye post (as much as I don’t want to) reflecting on my exchange. And finally, once I return, will write again about my readjustment into Colchester’s community.

Keep an eye out for the post next week.

In the heat of battle