Exactly why we are here
Each day continues to make me feel good about Global Reach Out. We are here to understand people, not our people but their people, their culture, their way of living and especially their needs and desires. Yesterday right before lunch, we completed an activity focused on conflict resolution. Sarah and I were in a group with two Indian delegates named Priyanka and Vikas. Priyanka is from Kolkata and Vikas is from Bangalore. First, we were to create a group name and a group dance. Our group is named Punjab because Sarah, Vikas and I learned the Punjab dance from Priyanka. It is a type of Bollywood dance. I also saw a solution to the "conflict" given to us through Priyanka and Vikas' eyes. It was different from my perspective. But it was not wrong. Their perspectives are not wrong. It only made me understand the world a bit differently. It made me realize that they have been experiencing life in extraordinary ways compared to mine. And I'm here to find out how they see life. I'm here to embrace their view on life and I can see that this behavior, in turn, is making the Indians feel good. This makes me happy to be here. Although settling on an agreement for our response to the situation took a bit while- we communicated through three languages, it was a fascinating experience. It was every gesture of understanding that made communication exciting. It was every time a face lit up that made language feel like a beautiful thing. It was a constant reminder that we are here to work together, to learn from each other.
By lunch time, I had developed new and stronger desires. I want to learn more about dancing the Indian way. I want to learn about what respect means to the Indians. I am motivated to engage in conversations with the Indians. I see that they are special and with so much to share.
Oh yes, yesterday was the last day of 2009, but certainly not the last of GRO! We spent the rest of the day putting our heads together and discovering important topics we want to make central for the camp. It was a room of heat, not because it was hot outside or because we were frustrated. It felt like we put our hearts out and we had so many ideas. We were able to limit our passion to 5 topics though (ISL perservation, conflict resolution, communication, culture, empowerment)! :) Then the night took us to Ginger- a classy Indian restaurant. Along with enjoying dishes of potatoes, chickpeas, chicken and naan bread, we lost ourselves in taking pictures, having personal conversations, and Twitter-ing. We had a ball after that! We returned to the hotel and danced on the rooftop. The sky was colored with fireworks and one TV was on. Many of us could not believe this was how we were spending our midnight.. in India, half a world away from America. I, for one, could not believe it at all. I found myself realizing I'm here in a completely different culture with new friends. I'm here with a special organization. I'm with people that were first strangers to me but I feel free with them. It feels like this is my life now. After all I have jumped into 2010 with GRO!
- Rachel Blake