A Few Final Notes

Dear friends,

Now that I have been in the US for 9 days I thought I would provide some final thoughts on my Global SE experience.  Like one of my Wooster professor uses in class, I have a few "take-home" points to share with you:

• As a generalization, Americans are much more individualistic than Indians.  While family is important for many Americans, it is a significantly larger part of Indian life.  I liked this aspect of Indian culture and I am hoping to replicate it in my own life because I think it will remind me to think of more than just myself.
• I definitely want to return to India.  This time, rather than living in the city, I hope to live in a rural setting.  I found rural India to be very beautiful and I liked the slower pace of life.
• More than feeling like I was collaborating with an NGO on a project, I think Global SE fostered lots of personal growth.  By pushing myself and putting myself in an unfamiliar setting I learned a lot about my own personality, what I value, and what I want to do in the future.
• There are many individuals out there who want to change the world but just don't know how to do it.  If these people could be leveraged, change could be systemic.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my time in India.  There is a good chance this blog will come back to life soon as I continue my study abroad experiences (I'm headed to Central America in January) or if I learn some cool things at Wooster that I would like to share.  Until then, peace.

ET