On Saturday, our Tamil teacher Venkat, took us to South Jordan, where we visited the Sri Ganesha temple, and were able to see how ceremonies are held there. After that we went to get South Indian food, and it was not as bad as I thought it would be! (More on the temple and the food on the Extra Credit entry).
I really liked the temple ceremonies and I liked what I learned there. I thought the food was pretty good as well, but my favorite part about this field trip was the people that I was able to see. I have never seen so many Indians congregated before, in Utah. In New York, I saw many many Indians, but back then I had no idea that I would be going someday. This time, seeing so many really made a difference. The people, to me, are the most important part. I was so happy to see so many Indian women with their Saris and their beautiful, long, black, braided hair. I loved the fact that I could smile and they would smile right back at me. I did not feel like a stranger in the Temple, I felt welcome by their smiling faces and their deep, dark eyes that would give a warm look. The men too were very friendly, although a little more shy in nature. The men were very nice, and they were explaining everything that went on in the temple. One of the servers in the restaurant, was from Chennai and he was so friendly. When I told him that I was going to Coimbatore in three weeks, for three months, he got very excited and said "Coimbatore is a lot of fun!!". He was so sweet.
While I was sitting there in the restaurant, and looked around to see that I was the minority, I pretended to be in India for a second. I said to myself "I am surrounded by Indians!! I guess this is what it will feel like, times 10". I got really excited and happy, and of course, really nervous. However, being surrounded by these wonderful people, reminded me that I was not going to some foreign planet, but that I would be in a different country, with different people, and yet they were just like me. They valued their religion, they were with their families, they were enjoying meals, just like I would be. I was reminded that I needed to keep a friendly and open attitude, so that when I was faced with the differences, I would be more apt to react positively, than negatively. As the time winds down, and I find myself with one day left for me to go to India, I know that I will feel nervous, but at the same time, I will think about my experience on saturday, being surrounded by Indians, and how that felt, and how happy it made me.
No comments:
Post a Comment