India McDonalds!

This past month felt like both the longest and shortest life of my month. My excitement to return home and move to NYC for the summer greatly outweighs my sentimental feelings towards leaving India. So much has happened in the last month. Days of busses, trains, and planes (I wish I knew the stat on total miles traveled). Some classroom and experiential learning sessions including leadership lectures, games, and our wilderness advanced first aid certifications. Then we completed a ten day trek in the Himalayas complete with hikes on the snow capped mountains, remote villages, tons of livestock, and the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my life. Now we have rounded out the trip by doing some shopping and eating in Delhi and a trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra. With all that said, this trip has greatly boosted my confidence as both a traveler and individual. This trip wet my appetite to see more of this giant floating rock we call home and observe cultures besides my own. As an individual, this trip has boosted my confidence operating in the unknown. I am in an unfamiliar place where daily life is far different from my home. In addition, I spent ten nights learning to survive in the wilderness of the backcountry where not even the guides can control the environment. Developing strategies to operate in unknown environments given my own leadership style has been a constant exercise during this trip. In addition to building my confidence as a leader through this trip, I have identified a key area of improvement for myself as a person and leader. 

One night during the trek, we read a story about a family in Texas aimed to illustrate the Abilene paradox. The Abilene paradox in my own words is when a bunch of agreeable people take a course of action which none of them prefer in order to appease the others in the group. My feedback from our instructors on the trek and my own self evaluation of my performance indicates that I am very susceptible to falling into this paradox. One strength that I mentioned in previous blog posts is that I am content in nearly all circumstances and complaining is not in my nature. However this strength paired with my non-confrontational personality can cause me to stay on the bench when the group really needs me to speak up on a point. Speaking up and disagreeing with people is uncomfortable for me but since identifying this fact, I have spoken up on multiple occasions where I normally wouldn’t. 

During the time we spent walking around Delhi there was much to see and taste. I enjoyed telling strangers on the street where I came from and what I was doing in their country. But these interactions are contrasted by the heartbreaking interactions with beggar children on the street. We also got to visit a Sikh temple and understand more about this religion’s place in India. The most fascinating part of the Sikh temple was the kitchen and dining area where over 30,000 people are fed as charity daily. In Agra, the Taj Mahal was spectacular, but the most impactful part of that visit was actually the restaurant we dinned at the night before in Agra. The Sheroes hangout promotes social activism for women’s rights by giving survivors of acid attacks new opportunity. We dined here and got to interact with multiple survivors and hear their stories and the mission of this charity. It was inspiring to hear their stories and motivating for me to find a cause which I could contribute to from my place of privilege. 

For this final post from India I have another fun side quest 🤠. Me, Thomas, and Crhis had the opportunity to eat at a McDonald’s in Delhi. It was so fun to try all the familiar favorites which had been rebranded to incorporate chicken. I think the reason I enjoyed eating at this McDonald’s so much is that it reminds me of home and I may be more homesick than I thought. But hey, who doesn’t wanna try a Chicken Maharaja Mac? (pictured below, plz don't read the nutrition facts mom).