Diving Right In

Arrived. In the morning. We have, how you say, bus lag? Have been here now at the project site for three days. None of my Hindi has helped, so much for orientation week. But, it is a slow process. Thankfully, it is not as hot here, and also the feel of the mountains brings me back home. The hills are beautiful, as are the people and my fellow volunteers.

Volunteering itself is something I am still working at--I have visited my school once so far, the next day was a holiday, and I wasn't quite told what I should be doing. Tomorrow might provide a bit more guidance, but perhaps it is the time for me to take initiative. Either way, it is an experience, and a lesson in diving into the moment.

There seem to be alot of those around here. On Wednesday, I went paragliding in the Himalayas. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it until I watched three other volunteers jump off a cliff, float up into the air and off into the Indian sunset. The feeling of flying is surreal, but not so unattainable on ground. Experiences are what we make them, and the feeling of peace, adrenaline and fear felt in the air can just as easily be found wherever you find yourself.

We learned that today, as walking back from the market to the house we went to talk to two girls sitting on the side of the road. To their left and down a road was their home, a small village tucked away in a street of Palampur. Well, not quite a village, but a community at least. We were immeadiately invited in, and after hesitating a second we dived in. Not knowing what to expect, and not being able to speak in Hindi, we joined the many families as they gave us a cold refreshment and we made their children some origami with the paper Arielle had just got. We sat there for half an hour, playing with the kids, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and feeling like a part of the clan. The elders came to greet us and shake our hands, and I felt a sense of hierarchy and respect that I am foreign to. As we sat, one woman took the rings off of her hand and gave them to each of the four of us.

Being welcomed into a community that we don't know, that guidebooks tell us to steer clear of, that in our minds we are reluctant to enter, opens something in our hearts. Its right to give, to accept, to share. Its natural, healthy even (as Abbie would say). Why is it sometimes our first instinct, then, to reject this?