By Weichen Zhao

The trip has ended.  Looking back at those two weeks in time and the things we did all the time during the trip – traveling, speaking, watching, thinking.  The experiences we gained refreshed our sense and view of world and life.

Joseph, who works on a little island for his son’s future, being separated away from family.  Prakash, an energetic young man who manages his life colorfully in a little village, with the happiness that people have been searching for for a while.  Parveen, a mature nineteen year-old boy with humbleness, helping his home, Agora, keep its origins and initiatives.  Suman, the person who owns all the qualities of our core values, as Mr. Cola says.  So many people we met on the road taught us new lessons.  We are surprised by the people’s choices on living their life, the angles of thinking.  We found situations that could be analyzed in multiple ways.  Love, happiness, loyalty, hope, etc.  Words like these cannot be generalized or made meaningless anymore.

On the road, we saw a lot of views on nature, society, mankind – watching the changes of environments.  From dusty, busy cities to clean, original tropical islands, then transfer to the inside of everlasting Himalayas in two days.  You look around, being scared by the huge amount of vehicles and people.  He sits next to the window on the plane, thinking about yesterday’s memories of beach and fruit.  She takes the pictures with her big camera, trying to keep the moments of those kids’ smiles in the houses and the snow peak.  We travel, and travel, eating Parle G (an Indian biscuit), expressing our feelings under the low light after dusk’s gone.  I walk, with my gear, watching, observing; talking quietly with the things that surround me, forever.  For everyone on this trip, traveling offers us opportunities to discover, to accept news, to understand, to pick up the things around us that we have ignored for a while.  Someone says he feels bad because we have to travel to the other side of the world to learn the things that appear in our life everyday.

Yeah…

But now we know.  The experience guides us to keep understanding the ideas – illuminating the future for us.  We put ourselves into it physically and mentally, knowing not to give up under the high physical pressure; finding the way to push our limit.  Keeping our heart flat and calm to face situations, starting to think and care for others.  Many apocalypses and enlightenments come over, not because we think so much, but to feel it actually by ourselves, to gain from the experiences.  Then it extends naturally to beyond the mind and soul, and that is what we came up with after the trip.

Overall, this trip to India brought huge influence and impacts to every participant.  Here, I must thank the faculty members and lumbuu, the founder of the trip.  Without them, we could not have this tremendous experience.  One of the best ways to thank is to use the knowledge we’ve learned from the trip in our lives.  To prove it, and that’s the initiative of them making this trip.

Remember, please hold your knowledge in your mind.  Bring it anytime and constantly when you make every single decision in your life.  It might take a long time or maybe not, but finally you will grow up, after your own discoveries.

Discovery never ends.