Soon my India Voyage Begins...

Somehow, the time has almost come for me to get on a plane, nestle into my coach seat for 14 and a half hours from Chicago to New Dehli, and begin my adventure in India for an entire month. For one month I will not eat any meat, fruit that's not from a peel or any uncooked vegetables, wear makeup, drink tap water, or eat any Mexican food. Somehow living here in Texas I find myself eating Tex-Mex food almost daily so the adjustment might be tolling on my stomach's sanity. Instead of my daily routine it will be a month of malaria pills, protein bars, solely bottled water, sweating, more sweating, and enough medicine to help my stomach "just in case the curry gets to me." Instead, it will be just me and my eyes learning from the Indian culture surrounding me.

For all of the traveling I have done, this will slide to the top of my list for one of the most unusual places I will have traveled to. I have traveled to developing countries, but being surrounded by it for an entire month will be something completely new to me.

What do I expect from this trip? I have absolutely no idea. I have no idea who I will meet, what memorable images I will see, what moments will make me cringe or what moments will take my breath away. I do however know that whatever I see and experience in India will be life changing. I will come back a different person having seen extreme poverty immediately next to extreme wealth. I will come back a different person after experiencing so many unique things that push and at times throw me out of my comfort zone. I probably would have never chosen to go to India if it weren't for my graduate studies program. But here I am, leaving in two weeks, and I've decided that this trip will be an adventure of a lifetime. So here I come India, get ready to add one more world traveler to your 1.1 billion population.

More to come...