Thank You, India

Dear India,

I would like to take a moment to say thank you. Not only for giving the world Gandhi, paneer tikkha and the number zero, but also for an amazing summer. I learned a lot in these short three months and for that I am grateful. Sure, at times I was annoyed with things like Hindi (a language I still don't understand), the unforgiving heat and humidity and the bizarre combination of commotion and utter sloth in the urban jungle of Kolkata, "the city that always sleeps." In the end though, I enjoyed my time here tremendously. My internship was great, I met fabulous people who I'll never forget, I learned the depth of my family's love and support (immediate and extended alike), I got time and space to be alone and REALLY think, and I really began to appreciate your wonderful cultural and social complexity.

Well, since I've realized that my flight from your golden shores of Bengal to your bustling shores of Bombay is actually TONIGHT (and not Sunday night as I'd previously thought), I better get my pensive butt packing.

Thank you and Dhanyabad. Namaste and Salaam Alekum.

I'll see you again real soon,

Tanya