Note: This article originally appeared in the 2015 Summer edition of Carroll Magazine and has been adapted for the web
by Megan Planck, Class of 2015, Nursing
Plans for a trip to India evolved quickly at Carroll. In early October, 22 students signed up, but little did we know what our hurry to fill the open spots would bring us. In the remaining months until our departure in December, we began preparing with meetings to discuss the trip’s logistics. We received the proper immunizations, read The White Tiger, and shared our hopes for this time of service and exploration in the holy city, Varanasi. We attempted to cook Indian food and explored some of the realities of India including the poverty, wealth inequality, child labor, and issues of healthcare. As the date of departure neared, we wondered what this experience of service would teach us. For the three weeks of our winter break spent in India, we would volunteer at the Saraswati Education Center (a school in the slums for children who cannot afford public school), an ashram established by Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity, as well as a children’s hospital and a leprosy colony.
When I try to describe India, words fail and instead I find myself sinking back into the damp days we spent along the Ganges. How do you describe the extent of the poverty, with sanitation and health problems far worse than anything experienced in the U.S., or a culture that has people believing they are “untouchable?”
Overstimulating: a word that captures the essence of India. It would be easy (or at least easier) to describe India simply on the surface level, to let the physical struggles dictate the memories of the trip. Every day, we found ourselves buried in sights, sounds and scents. From beautiful to horrifying, we gained insight into the daily lives of those living in Varanasi.
I can’t deny that experiencing India with each of our senses was challenging and not always pleasant. However, it would be wrong to leave it at that. Our senses gave us a greater understanding of the life there. We found meaning and significance in our trip by using the physical stimuli to enhance the intellectual and emotional dilemmas we faced and worked through each day. To learn and hear about the poverty and culture is one thing. Without the senses, without the ability to walk through the muck, look into the eyes of the people living on the streets, inhale the grey saturated air or touch the walls of the temples and silk and chapatti, India would have been more of an idea than a place that touched our hearts.
There were the sights that made me cringe. From the garbage collecting at every street corner, to the villages of people living in the slums on the outskirts of town, there were many sights I would have rather not seen. But we went beyond observing, walking between weak shelters that families used for homes, encountering malnourished children, and maneuvering around cows and goats feeding out of large trash heaps. Every day we saw something new–often extreme wealth and deep poverty in one glance. Some days, games of cricket took up the space beggars had been the day before. We watched men splashing themselves “clean” in the Ganges and we looked into the eyes of children who longed to be loved. We observed flags turning in the breeze, women wearing saris of every imaginable color, and monkeys stealing food.
The sense that affected me the most was sound. Clanging bells, yelling, persistent shop owners, cows “mooing” and the honking of cars and rickshaws never stopped. Despite the constant commotion, sounds also brought us humor. The accents of the children who yelled, “Hellllooooo” in our passing and the men who asked us every day when we trekked along the ghats “Boat? Boat madam? Very cheap . . . Helicopter?” always brought a smile to someone in our group, because no time soon will there be any helicopter seen near Varanasi. But we appreciated these clever attention-getting tactics.
"The sense that affected me the most was sound. Clanging bells, yelling, persistent shop owners, cows “mooing” and the honking of cars and rickshaws never stopped."
As you can imagine, the smells of India are particularly memorable. Compared to the fresh air of Montana, the hazy and thick air of Varanasi led to black soot in our noses by the end of each day. Mixed scents of food cooking, human urine and feces, incense, fires (including the ones burning dead human bodies to purify them), dying animals and their waste, combined with the polluted air caused havoc to our noses and lungs. A walk through the streets meant picking up five distinct odors in a few short feet.
About halfway through the trip, I began to dread Indian food and determined that I would always be thankful for meat and protein in my diet. My appetite shrunk considerably, and I found I was more concerned with sleeping and preserving my energy than eating dinner some nights. The ever-present chill, due to the foggy mornings and humidity, became taxing, despite wearing a down coat almost every day and often to bed. I won’t miss walking through streets of mud, knowing that despite the effort to walk on clean ground, I was stepping in swirls of human and animal feces, paan (a form of Indian tobacco) and dirt.
Eventually the non-stop stimulation from every imaginable source got the best of me. The physical challenges were one obstacle, but the emotional and mental exertion it took to try to process the poverty and inequality was more than I had expected. The built-up excitement I had had before we left home had converted into confusion, anger, sadness and frustration. Thoughts and emotions raced through my head when I gave myself time to acknowledge them. How are there still people living this way? Why has no one done anything to educate or help them? Or change the system? And why am I here when there is so much that can’t be fixed? Second guessing myself, I thought about all of the reasons I shouldn’t be in India. It took the entire three weeks of living in India, and even more time back home, for me to see why it is I needed to go. Even months later, I find myself still continuing to process it all.
The physical tests were very tangible and an honest truth about adjusting to life in India. However, it is not fair to classify our trip only as a collection of the difficulties we faced, because it was so much more. Experiencing India was discovering how to see beyond. To look further than the poverty, the lack of support, the social injustice, the pollution, the lack of health and nutrition, the gender inequality, the spiritual beliefs different than my own and the pain, to see a culture and country that is more than the challenges and disparities. The city of Varanasi and its people are not merely what first meets the eye . . . the nose . . . the mouth . . . or any sense for that matter.
I saw and experienced so much beauty and life in India. The families in the villages, who were so desperate to be recognized, showed me that our true value is not determined by others’ ideas and perceptions. The children at the Saraswati School had some of the most joyful hearts despite their material poverty. In the hours I spent coloring, playing and laughing with one boy who didn’t speak, I learned that you don’t always need words to communicate. The mornings we woke up early and walked along the ghats were full of a different peace than I was used to finding at home. It was worth the early alarm to see the time when Varanasi was just waking up for the busy day ahead. India showed me some of the lessons I needed in ways I didn’t want to see, but helped me live in a way that values what matters. India gave me a new perspective on life, and a reason to be thankful and feel blessed for all that it is.
Since returning to Montana, we continue to process our India experience by sharing our stories, writing travel essays, presenting to the Carroll community, and even forming a new student organization on campus: the India Development Project. Next year’s trip is scheduled and full, and we’re excited to continue building a lasting relationship with Varanasi and the people. Future Carroll students will benefit from experiencing India, a country of life and spirit. The vibrant city of Varanasi is a powerful, moving place I will never forget. I’m reminded of an Ann Landers quote: “When life’s problems are overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate.”
“When life’s problems are overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate.” ~Ann Landers
MEGAN PLANCK graduated in 2015 with a degree in nursing. Originally from Moscow, Idaho, Megan begins work in August as an RN on the oncology floor at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.