I am headed to Pune, India for the fall semester in FIVE DAYS and it's getting real! Over the last several months, I've been getting asked the question "why India?" a fair amount and over the last week or so, really doing some thinking about why I am going. For those who know me in college or who have known me pretty well since high school, choosing India is no surprise. I say my love for South and Southeast Asia traces back the trips I was able to take through church groups to Cambodia and Nepal, 2011 and 2014 respectively. But I have had a love for all things Indian and dream of going or living there for a lot longer in my life. Honestly, this probably comes from scenes and description of India in the movie A Little Princess, various Bollywood films I've seen and obsessed over, and having several close Indian friends who hosted vibrant family parties. It grew from a simple admiration to a sense of missional calling to South Asia and a deep heart for the region's culture, history, and people following my two trips. Since junior year of high school I have thought that living in South Asia for 1-5 years in a nonprofit/missionary context would be a part of my future and hoped that studying there for a semester would help provide insight into what that would be like. Study abroad is pretty much a given for students at my university and especially in my major, in the school of international service. I definitely had to consider my reasons for going and ensure I wasn't just doing what I was "supposed to" do, or for a fear of missing out. For me, it was India or nothing- there was never another program I considered. After further research, I decided it was the perfect opportunity- I'll be in a program called Contemporary India taking classes on social justice, gender, Indian culture, and public health, as well as an internship with a local nonprofit and a visit to Nepal. I'm so excited for all the new insight and experiences this semester will bring- and let's be real, too stoked to finally own a sari. #Sarinotsorry #seeyousoonPune
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Becca LambChristian, feminist, idealist, wife, poet, abolitionist, dreamer, adventurer. Archives
June 2018
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