jonathan/ferguson

six hours ago my youngest sister left charlotte for chicago. two hours ago she and my older sister left chicago for munich. they’ll reach munich in about six hours where they’ll have a tiring eight hour layover thanks to frequent flier miles. then they’ll board a flight from munich to delhi. and 24 hours from now we’ll be sitting in my flat having chai.

it wil be their first legitimate international experience. meaning outside of canada and puerto rico. and of course their first time to india. i’ve been trying to remember what that feels like. what they must be going through. what it was like when i flew to mexico city and guatemala city 10 years ago. my first legitimate experience. then mixing in six or so trips to europe before even considering a trip to india. and here they’ve bypassed what i spread across a decade to skip straight to this behemoth of a place called india. it will be absolutely overwhelming and exhilarating for them. and i’m thrilled to experience it with them!

over the next two weeks, as we go jaunting across india, taking in delhi, uttar pradesh, rajasthan, and kerala, yes there will be camel safaris, taj mahal poses, and countless pictures of elephants and monkeys. but hopefully, they will absorb a more complicated perspective on this fascinating place. a place so incredibly different from everything they’ve ever known. and when its all said and done, i hope that their worldviews are widened irrevocably and their views of the world shrunken irreversibly. just like it does for me every time i step foot in a new place. and i hope to make the first stamp in their shiny new passports a truly memorable one.