Inward, Outward, Backward, and Forward: A Final Glance

My two months in Prashanthagiri ended just one week ago, and already I can see how my life has been changed by the experience. Visiting with family and friends since I’ve been home always brings up the same question. “So,” my grandmother would say over welcome-home tacos or my friend Christina would ask while we sat on the couch in her living room, “how was India?” For some odd reason I thought I would come back with a simple “Oh, it was great!” and I would leave it at that. But as soon as those words leave the tongues of my closest friends and relatives, I find my brain searching frantically for the correct adjective (Or should I say adjectives?) to describe my trip.

It was fun? Challenging? Interesting? Life-changing? Difficult? Saddening? Encouraging? Inspiring?

Well, in truth, it was all of these things and more. I usually just reply with a “It was good,” whereupon I promptly launch into one of my many stories from the last two months. But where do I begin describing this trip? I tend to overanalyze, but I find that I’ve been left with such an overabundance of information and experience from a seemingly short eight weeks that I don’t know where to begin figuring out what I’ve learned and how it has changed me, much less can I describe these changes in actual sentences to my family and friends.

I find myself talking a lot about the women in the tailoring workshop, where I spent much of my time and whose faces I will probably miss the most. I have an increasing interest in how they live and work within the context of their community. And though it is rarely talked about, it has become obvious to me that these women, and all of the women in our forty families, are an integral part of their community. Working with them and seeing their passion and perseverance has equally inspired me to be a stronger person with an open heart. We have much to teach them about business, English, and other skills, but we must not forget that they too have much to teach us. I know that Emily and Isel will benefit from their time with these women and that these positive relationships within the community will be ones that change the lives of both parties, and they will be ones that last a lifetime.

I’ve also discovered a few unexpected outcomes from this experience. I’ve always thought that I have no real interest in business, but I’ve learned by participating in our tailoring workshop that it can be exciting to see a product through from start to finish. Playing a part in gathering the fabric, talking to vendors, traveling from city to city for advice and potential partnerships, and seeing our designs finally being produced by the women in our community has sparked in me a sense of pride. I am proud to have played a role in this process, and I am proud of them for all of their work. I want them to feel confident in the products they have produced and will produce. And though my time there has ended (for now) I know that the things I’ve learned and the benefits I’ve gained from this experience will continue to show up as I continue through the next year and in the future. I learned a lot about our community and their culture and a lot about myself in the process. I cannot express the gratitude I feel for having been given this opportunity and for the advice, guidance, and good company I had in the last two months.

So what are we left with? Soon I head off to continue my undergraduate career at a study abroad program at UCL in London. I can truly and honestly say that I will take on this next step with an expanded world-view and a deeper understanding of myself. This of course would not have been possible without my internship with Profugo and the many people who helped me to accomplish it. To all of you who are considering working with Profugo or a similar organization, I say go out and do it. There’s no better time than now, and, “You’re not gettin’ any younger,” as my grandmother would say. Whatever way you can support the work that we are doing and whatever you can contribute, however small, is received with never-ending gratitude by all of our global neighbors. I’m glad to say that I have opened my hands and my eyes to a larger world through my work with Profugo.