Mumbai

Trip & Experiental Learning opportunity

December 9, 2023 - December 21, 2023

Over winter holiday 2023, I had the amazing opportunity to accompany someone very close to me, Sarisha Shetty, a UC student in Linder Business Honors, returning to their hometown, Mumbai, India. I am delighted but not at all surprised to reflect on this trip as one of the most fulfilling, richest, and most profound experiences of those I have embarked on at this point in my life. It was a trip of many firsts and many chances to embrace cultural differences, dive into a rich history that to me was almost completely unknown, exposure to new language, experience new flavors, connect with fabulous people, and predominantly pour effort, respect and love into an important connection in my life.

One of the aspects of the trip I was most excited for was the cuisine. There were so many dishes Sarisha was so excited for me to try which gave me a hunch I would be absolutely amazed- and I was not disappointed in the least. Sarisha is a fabulous cook, and I was able to experience that skill at the source while staying with the Shetty family in Mumbai. Sarishas mother, Janani so generously prepared an abundance of mouthwatering dishes during my stay including fish curry, daal, prawns, marbury rotis, chicken sukka, poha, liver, mutton soup along with various fresh juices that all left me without words; sweet lime, orange, pomegranate, watermelon, sugarcane, papaya, kiwi, mosambi. I also ate several variations of dosa, chutney, roti, biryani, paneer, pani puri and lassi while exploring local restaurants. A moment very memorable for me was sucking the bone marrow from specific bones in mutton soup, a very strong flavor and surprising texture!

The sense of family that I walked into in Mumbai was something so profound and overwhelming; a feeling I will never forget. To be so graciously accepted in an unknown place is something so beautiful and enriching. Maybe simply because I have a small family with relatively few members, but the family setting I witnessed on this trip was something so genuine, close-knit, and unique to any family structure I have seen before. I have walked away from this experience with many more genuine bonds than I ever expected. I was told over whatsapp by an Auntie, "Not once did I ever feel like you were a foreigner to us" which provoked deep feelings in me. Belonging has been a persistent and outstanding internal conflict of mine, which has pushed me to travel, makes me confident about change and exploring new places. Moments like those make me appreciate the beauty of human nature & connection, and make me wonder if it's possible belonging is not something necessarily immense and continuous, but something better recognized in bits and pieces.

Overall, I am so so happy to have had this experience and thankful for the means by which it was possible. I truly loved embarking on this adventure and everything that has come of it. Although it was not long enough, it never is, but I have been able to learn so many things, develop and further relationships as well as myself as a person, and the lens through which I view the world and make decisions. Opportunities like these are what motivate me to keep learning, and fill me with purpose. It's refreshing and healthy to have chances to remember how many amazing experiences and people there are in the world, and that there will always be something out there waiting for you to find it.