Author: Susamma (She/Her)

After eight months of planning for a six-month trip, I have been here in Kerala, India for ten days now and I am excited to be here.   I am not as plugged in as I would like to be since our Wi-Fi does not work consistently and my cell phone service is sparse at best. The real issue is that I am going through a withdrawal of sorts from instant access to my social media or to the internet.  For the old me, this would have been a huge problem but I have plenty to do while I am here.

For those of you who are wondering if I have unpacked, all three of my large suitcases were completely unpacked within twenty-four hours.   This was important for me since I would be here for six months.  Setting a new routine and getting comfortable in my, albeit temporary, space made my forty-something heart feel good. For the first time, in over twenty years, I unpacked and put away everything right away. Yes, you read it correctly.   With all my 10+ past moves, I never unpacked completely and had full boxes or as I like to call them, “Deal with it later” boxes left over.   It fit my nomadic lifestyle but I don’t want that anymore.  In my year of doing, I have set new expectations for myself and will work to achieve them.

Let’s talk about my expectations for a moment.  This trip is more than a sight-seeing jaunt.  With all my planning, I included goals and milestones to ensure I made the most of this opportunity and I so glad I did. I considered the coordination in advance for most of what I wanted to do and made lists organized by forward planning, post arrival, and prepping for my return in June.   I approached this trip as if it were my job.   Since my life is more important than any job, why wouldn’t I give myself the dedication and coordination that I give to a job. There were people who teased me for my copious planning, but I am glad I did it my way.  In my year of doing, I promise to listen to myself more.  I have heard it said that luck is when preparedness and opportunity meet.  Well, with all the preparedness I put into this trip, I should be very lucky.

This is my work space overlooking our inside grotto with very tiny sharks and other little fish.

I landed in Thiruvanthanapuram, Kerala around 3:10am local time on Tuesday, January 3rd. That was about two and half days ago.   Between the effects of nearly twenty hours in flight and the time change, I am still not sure what day this is and I have no idea what is happening in the world. To make matters worse, my electronics are not automatically synced to anything. In fact, without consistent Wi-Fi, I had to turn off most of my notifications and apps to keep the phone from using up the battery. I realize I may sound like a whiny privileged adult with my first-world issues, but those of us who use technology and devices to manage our time and travel are dependent on these conveniences to keep to our schedules and our lifestyles. In my everyday life, the thought of misplacing my phone or having no Wi-Fi terrifies me.

When I was planning for India, I anticipated the lack of consistent internet access but I overestimated my need for technology and devices for life in India.  I thought I would be devastated without constant access.  After two days in country, I realize I am really learning how to live a different life, one without my dependence to technology and devices. As I write this, I am chuckling because I remember when none of us had cellphones or Wi-Fi and we lived happy lives. I did not get my first cell phone until I was a young soldier stationed in Germany. Even then, I barely used my cell phone. That was about sixteen years ago when my life was governed by the work schedule of the Surgical Clinic where I worked at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

You might be asking why I am reminiscing about my time in the military and what it must do with moving to India for six months. It seems that I have been shifting from one lifestyle and pace to another for so many years that moving to India for a short time will not be that difficult. In the Army, I learned to train for the job I had to do while anticipating potential changes and I realize that my whole life has been a practice of that. While I wasn’t particularly good at being a soldier, I learned valuable life lessons about adapting to change before the changes engulf me. Moving to India was my choice and so is being less dependent on technology for the next six months.

I have spent most of 2016 planning for my big trip in 2017 and it is finally January 1^st!  Happy New Year to all of us. Tonight, I leave for my six-month trip in India where I will experience my motherland as a home and not just a vacation destination. Since I moved to the United States in the 1970’s, my return trips have only been one month or less where I was just a tourist and not a resident. For this journey, I will unpack, get comfortable, and learn a few of the languages.

As you might imagine, I have several reasons for embarking on this journey and I will share more about them in future posts. If you are asking yourself (and me) why I am going on this long trip, then my answer to you is why not. I have been blessed with an opportunity to travel and given the shortness of life, there is no perfect time like now. I chose India because it is my motherland and so much of who I am comes from the Indian culture and society.

For many years, I have wanted to visit places like the Taj Mahal to revel in its majesty and size.  During this trip, I will visit as many places as I can but I will do it as an Indian American who wants to be more than just a tourist.  From others’ experiences and photos, I have gleaned my ideas of what I might feel while I travel, but I really won’t know how I feel until I get there.  To live a more mindful life, I have decided to be present in every moment of my travel and have no assumptions about what I should feel or share.  With my blog, I will document my personal journey and offer glimpses of India through my eyes.  I ask all of you to come with me as I explore.