Posting by Hannah Wilson
I've been walking down the streets, through the temple, the church, and staring out the bus windows at a million faces. They are all staring back at me. We look so different; our skin, our facial structures, our clothes, our jewelry, and our hair. We speak such different languages and even our body language is dissimilar. We live on opposite sides of the world that right now seem far more opposing than similar. It's only been a few days but I feel like there is a thick and vast wall between me and the people of India. I want to break it down, to get to know them, to understand them, to find all the ways that we are the same. I just don't know how or where to begin and I want so badly to find out.
Today though, we visited three internship sites bustling with children. Instantly the children were smiling, giggling, and waving. The "Hello"s and "Good Morning"s were abundant and balls were kicked our way for us to kick back in a game of pass. I did not feel like an American surrounded by Indians, I felt like a human surrounded by energetic, beautiful children who were eager to connect, play, and be together. I felt no barriers. What happens between childhood and adulthood that builds these walls? How do we even begin to break them down?