After three hours in the airport, we finally boarded, but then sat on the runway for over an hour due to that damn English fog. During the 10-hour flight I watched lots of movies and read one of the great books I'd picked up in India. We landed at JFK around 3:00PM - four hours later than we were supposed to. And naturally, with all the flight confusion, my luggage didn't arrive with us. But it was all good. British Airways promised to have someone deliver it to my house the next morning (which they did!) and it was one less thing to load into the car.
Elizabeth's husband, Adam, met us and we all piled into his station wagon just as the snow began to fall. Apparently it did not snow once the whole time we were gone. Traffic was horrific and it took nearly two hours to get to their house. Wolf made his way down and met us there, but because of all the snow and ice, it took us over an hour to get back home.
When we finally did arrive, it was well after 8:00 PM. I don't think I've ever been happier to be home! Wolf had gotten me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a card letting me know that: From now on, Valentine's Day will be February 12 - the day my Love came home to me.
Sigh. He truly is a keeper.
I took a 45-minute shower. Then we ordered Chinese food and cuddled on the couch. It was a perfect evening. I was home.
* * *
The following week, I met up with the team for a reunion at Chand Palace where we swapped photos on DVD and reminisced about our life-changing journey. Rajiv had a great time in Goa and took a train trip up to Mumbai a couple days later. Bernie made it to the Taj Mahal but had his shoes stolen outside of a temple. We laughed a lot and promised to stay in touch.
Three months later, I find myself settled back into my life and familiar routines. I've been in touch with many of the friends I made in India. Poonam and I exchange old-fashioned letters by mail, and have spoken on the phone a couple times. I called Gadag on March 12 for Mohan's birthday, and Wolf got a chance to "meet" them as well.
Alpana and Sujit made their first journey to the U.S. at the end of February to visit Sujit's sister in Boston. They phoned me a couple times while they were here, and sent me photos upon their return. They found it to be terribly cold!
I've received lots of emails from host families all along the way. They've all invited me to come back and to stay with them longer. I have a very good feeling I will return to India!
Last Monday, the GSE team from India arrived at Newark airport and Bernie, Rajiv and I were among the group of Rotarians waiting to meet them. They're spending their first couple weeks in the western area of New Jersey, and will arrive by me on Monday, April 21.
And as a newly-inducted member of the Parsippany Rotary Club, I get the honor of hosting the lovely Rajani for a week! I'm hoping I can be half as gracious as my hosts were to me.
India was an amazing adventure. The experience changed my life and opened my eyes. Despite the differences in language, dress, religion and cooking, I found that we're all very similar on the inside. I think if everyone in the world had the opportunity to spend a month in a different country, there would be a lot more tolerance and a lot less war. There'd be a lot less "us and them" and a lot more "we."
As I said in my speech at the district conference in Hubli, "On January 14, I arrived as an American in India. And it is my honor to return to America as an Indian."I will do my very best to keep India a part of me. And I know that one day I will return to the land that holds a piece of my heart. Not to get it back -- but to leave a little bit more of it there.