January 11, 2024

Silent Moments

Today marks a week since I’ve landed in Bangalore and nine days since I said a tearful [sobbing] goodbye to my family. Fortunately the days are filled to the brim with activities that I never have the chance to feel homesick. Any free time I do have is spent either getting to know my classmates, exploring the city, or getting some much needed rest.

This morning I woke up with my voice gone. Initially I thought it was funny. I felt like a tv character on a filler episode, where the person loses their voice, but then somehow regains it back in time for the big singing number at the end of the episode. However, while seeing everyone work and talk to each other during our BMS lecture on Design Thinking, I obviously started feeling a little sad that I couldn’t participate and a little awkward. Nobody wants to be the odd person out.

In a way, I’m grateful that I did loose my voice. It has given me the time to reflect about the trip and the lessons that I have learned so far. It has given me a new appreciation of observing people and this new environment around me. It also has served as reminder that for many people, this is the reality they face.

Their voice is often ignored or shut down. There is no space for them at the table, or a platform to amplify what they have to say. Yesterday, we talked about how each of us will work with a marginalized community, and during these interviews, having those awkward silences in conversations is important. It gives people time to formulate their thought and the time to build that courage to voice out what they really feel.

I’m looking forward to these upcoming weeks and the stories I will learn during these silent moments.

By Arielle