ABOVE: a very old letter written to my grandmother from her good friend

It's been three months now since I've been in India and I'm getting that slight 'I miss you' feeling. Call it homesick or whatever you want but don't worry, it's nothing strong enough to make me pack my bags up. 

After three months here, a lot of great things have happened. I've been working on some fun projects at work, I've figured out (to a certain degree) how to get around on my own, I've got my daily routine sort of in place, and I've been learning more and more about Delhi. I'm enjoying Delhi and feeling almost home here. When I was on my train home from Bangalore, I was SO excited to come 'home'. I was excited to move around on my own again, to go back to my fairly independent life, and to see the familiar day-to-day faces in my neighborhood that remind me that I am home. All that said, there's still something that feels missing.. 

My life in the US was very different from my life here in Delhi. Sure, I find ways to stay busy here, but I occupy my time quite differently. In the US, I was constantly doing things, often in the company of others. This ranged from volunteering at my favorite radio station, to hanging out with friends, to organizing+ attending events with my local AIGA chapter. I was often surrounded by people, and I loved it! In Delhi, I have met some great people (mainly at work) but I have yet to find a few go-to groups of people. Most of the people I know are also busy with either work, family, or other groups of friends, that I see them occasionally but not frequently. In Milwaukee, if I decided at 7pm I wanted to go out to eat, I could have easily texted multiple people and made plans. Thats not the case in Delhi, which makes life here much different. 

Of course I try to look at this more as a challenge or growing point rather than an actual problem. It's probably good for me to have more 'me' time and give my body a little break from physically running around everywhere!

While I was in Bangalore, I felt a difference in my visit. Something had changed in how Bangalore felt to me and it took me a while to realize what. This was my first time visiting Bangalore since my paternal grandmother passed away (a few months back). Going into it, I knew the city would feel different for this reason, but I had no understanding of how different. 

Now, most of you know the relationship I had with my grandma, but I'll catch everyone up to speed... During high school, my grandma came to visit us in the US. She stayed with us for a few months and in this time I think I really bonded with her (of course, I always loved her). I was at an age where I could understand our similarities, and appreciate her wisdom more. From this point our relationship grew very close. She became one of THE most important person's in my life. I would call her every weekend and share stories of projects I was working on and whatever crazy shenanigans I was up to that week. We had many years between us and far different environments we grew up in, but at the core we were really similar. My grandmother inspired me to be more independent, compassionate, and creative. In short, she was an amazing woman I looked up to. 

Not having my grandmother in Bangalore meant not having this extremely special person there to greet me when I arrived, this person I could spend hours talking to, this person who had just the right way of showing her love and making me feel equally special. In a similar way, that's what I miss in Delhi. I miss the physical proximity of people, I miss getting hugs often and always being surrounded by people. Like I said, this is a really good test for me, someone who is extremely social and extroverted. It makes me really appreciate the awesome people I do know and gives me a better understanding of myself. 

In any case over the next few weeks, all of this will change because I will have two new flatmates coming in. The house will be packed! Plus one of my best friends from college will be visiting at the end of the month! I'm very excited about all of this. Right now, I'm figuring out where exactly to go for a post-birthday trip in the hills :)

Also, I kinda miss american food. But there's an easier fix for that! ;)