January 24, 2023

A Familiar Unfamiliarity

Today, I took a break from the GCIL routine to head down and meet with my family over in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was my cousin sister’s wedding and was a chance for me to reconnect with many relatives that I had not seen in a long time, some in over a decade. Most importantly, it was a chance for me to see my cousin take a step towards the next big phase of her life and to be by her side when it happened.

The wedding proceeded in a fantastic manner. People sang, danced, laughed, and filled the room with a wave of enthusiasm and joy that felt comforting to experience after the past few weeks. Though it was not apparent to me until I was there at the wedding, the rigorous schedule of these first three weeks had taken a physical and emotional toll on me that the day in Chennai helped clear. Even with how excited I have been to be a part of this program and work on something meaningful over the course of these 10 weeks, a brief respite was needed and found at my cousin’s wedding. Though I may be on the other side of the world and far from home, it is comforting to know that I can still find solace when needed. Now that the wedding has passed and I have returned to Bangalore, I feel reenergized and can’t wait to see what the following 7 weeks have in store for me next!