From my bedroom window I can look out to the ocean. It's a comforting view, one that brings peaceful images to mind...images of sunrises and foreign soil, of familiar faces, of waves crashing alongside the ship beneath us...can it be true that a week has passed since I've been back in the states? My body is uneasy on the land...I miss the gentle rocking of the sea. My mind is in a state of confusion...I belong back there, with my companions; surely you know their names-excitement, enthusiasm, exhuastion...we've left each other's side for awhile but I know I will see them shortly...when I return abroad...in five days. Oh India...you don't seem real. I can't believe the life I'm living...it's everything I desired so deeply and for so long...and yet I'm sacrificing a lot for this...I know India will be an earthquake within my mind, my body, my spirit...I'm anticipating all the pollution, the poverty, the chaos. I'm anticipating getting extremely sick, cursing my naivety and feeling guilty for my privileged existence. Constantly. But I don't want to stay in the box that is America! I want to see and grow and cry and laugh...I'm as ready as I can be for the extremes that await me in India. For despite the frustration and discomfort that I will surely feel, these experiences will shape me in becoming the person I aspire to be. I aspire to be stronger and wiser and India will be the greatest teacher of all. My dream has always been to be her pupil.