I Appreciate India

Today marks the one-month anniversary of my arrival in India. When people ask me how I like India, my auto-reply is generally, “I love it!”

However, I met a girl a few days ago who, when I asked her that question, responded, “I appreciate it.” I kind of laughed, because often when you hear the word “appreciate” it is because you don’t like something enough to use a more positive word. That being said, the more I think about it, the more I realize that this phrase, “I appreciate India”, better articulates my feelings thus far about my time in India.

I appreciate that I am in a culture so different than my own. I appreciate what I am learning about coexisting with nature (I now say goodnight to the lizard on my wall instead of finding a way to remove it from my room). I appreciate the time that I have to make out of it what I want to. I appreciate the space for discussion. I appreciate the different perspectives that I hear every day. I appreciate the simplicity of life. I appreciate the 10+ hours of sleep that I am getting every night…actually, treasuring might be a better word in this case J.

Don’t get me wrong – I love aspects of India. But at this point, it’s not a place that I am dying to come back to or am dreading leaving. I appreciate what India is teaching me and who it is encouraging me to be, and I look forward to seeing who that turns out to be in December…because I have a feeling that by then I will not only appreciate India, but I will also have a lot for which to thank India.