And just like that, it was all over. Six weeks in India, an amount of time that seemed so incredibly daunting in the beginning, went by in what seemed like a matter of days. This has been the most incredible, fulfilling, eye-opening, and just downright fun six weeks of my life. Assuming you’ve read my previous four posts, you know all the amazing things we’ve gotten up to during our time here as a cohort and the work I’ve been doing at Gateway House, so I’ll spare you the repetition.
I want to take this final post as an opportunity to share a couple more things I’ve learnt during my time in Mumbai.
- You need to get out of your comfort zone!
If this experience has taught me one thing, it is the value of pushing oneself beyond one’s boundaries. Travelling and living in an environment so wildly different to anything you’ve seen before can seem intimidating, but it is so worth every second of discomfort you may feel in the beginning. I admit, at first, I wasn’t so sure that I had made the right decision in embarking on this journey; the constant streams of people and the endless stares from onlookers seemed all a bit too much for me. But the more time we spent amongst it all, the more I came to realise that feeling just a little uncomfortable is one of the most important parts of travelling; it’s where you begin to learn your boundaries and gain a bit of self-confidence along the way.
- The things we value here in Aotearoa
Although I had a solid idea of what it meant to live in Aotearoa and be a New Zealander, spending time overseas opens one’s eyes not just to the culture in that country but to one’s own culture back home. This experience highlighted a few things about home that I now know I deeply appreciate. The first of these is the value we attach to the environment around us and the importance we place on protecting it. Something I fear we take for granted here in Aotearoa is the pristine natural environment that we are so blessed with. Working in India, a country with such beautiful natural diversity and landscapes yet suffering from immense overpopulation, made me realise how lucky we are not only to have such a beautiful backyard but to have the resources and population that allow us to protect it.
Although our time in India on the PMSA program has come to an end, I feel like my journey with India has just begun.We were only barely able to scratch the surface of what this beautiful country has to offer. The things I was able to learn and the relationships I was able to make will continue to shape my life moving forward, and one thing I’m sure of is that this is only the first of my many visits.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for following our journey as a cohort. If you’re considering taking part in a future PMSA program, I hope our blogs have encouraged you to take the leap and see the amazing things countries like India have to offer!
