Settling down back homeprint story
April 07, 2012
In ten days, it will be two months since I got back home to India. Time has flown! And it has gone even faster that it did when I was in South America. I think it is because there is nothing new happening every single day, no travel plans being made, no new destination being explored or new people met everyday anymore. Life has settled back into my pre - travel routine and on some days now I even forget that I went on a five month life changing trip to Ecuador and Peru. Soon after I got back home, I experienced some withdrawal symptoms. I wanted to go out and walk around town everyday, I could not identify with some things that were happening around me and the safety of home sometimes felt like a trap. I sat down and sorted through the thousands of photographs and wrote down memories. I wanted to talk about the trip to anyone who asked me about it. And yet, it was difficult to explain to anyone just how incredible the journey had been. How do you explain that sense of liberation, that feeling of having conquered the world and that super sense of confidence that you came back home with? Some things cannot be packed into a backpack - and those are the most amazing things. But eventually the novelty died down, real life has caught on and I need to starting earning my bread again. But the memories, the friendships, the changed mindset, the broadened horizons have and will stay with me for a long time. I got the Omprakash newsletter today and as I read it, I had an urge to re-apply for a grant and go away again! I hope I can do it again a few years later. I want to congratulate the new grant recepients but warn them; the journey that you are going to embark upon will not only change your life, but will be addictive as well! :)
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Omprakash volunteers have been posting stories, photos and even videos from their time abroad since 2007. We now have an extensive collection of personal stories from volunteers who've worked with our partners abroad. You can browse through the most recent stories below or use the category selection tool to narrow your search. Alternatively click on the Stories tab for each organization we work with to see specific accounts from a particular organization. Be careful - you might lose a couple hours of your day in here! Happy reading.