courtney's india journal - July 2

We got into our taxi to go to the airport. I sat there looking outside at the people, the little shops, the dogs, palm trees, taxis everywhere, all the trash...everything....thinking about that first taxi ride 3 weeks ago, how everything seemed so foreign and crazy and overwhelming. Now it was normal, ordinary, it was just life and I've realized how I've become so used to how things work here, the traffic, the pace, the smells and just the way of life in India. Not like I know everything there is to know, but I've just become really used to everything. I started to tear up in the taxi, because I didn't want to leave this place that has been my home for the past 3 weeks. I couldn't believe that this would be my last taxi ride in India...that our trip was coming to an end. I couldn't believe I was going home. I don't really want to go home, but I know I'll be back, if God wants me to. I don't know what it is about India that just captivates my heart. It wasn't a horrible experience being here, like some have told me it would be. It was challenging but it wasn't awful. It's taught me a lot about myself, about God, about the world. I'm definitely not the same person I was 3 weeks ago. I really feel called to live a more simple life, to not let things become so important to me. There is so much in my life that is unnecessary, that I can do without, when I remember all those people who have absolutely nothing.