Back to the Beginning

Today, we took what would be our final bus ride in India.  Dan and I have spent some our last days in what I have considered to be a home away from home- with our friends in Khanna.  After saying our emotional goodbyes we caught our bus to Delhi- from the side of the highway.  We elbowed our way through the crowded bus, me scoring a shitty seat by the door(not where you want to be in an over-crowded bus) and Dan finding himself in the cab, with the gear shift at his back- awesome.  It looked like we would be re-visiting our lovely train experience but instead of 2 hours, we were looking at closer to 6 or 7 at the rate we were going.  Ah, India- way to go out with a punch.  To our delight and surprise, the bus stopped at a random station, it looked like we would have to change to a different ride.  Happily, we skipped the next over crowded local bus and waited for the cushy, fast, air conditioned bus- it even had luggage storage!  The little things make me so happy now :)
This story has a point- moving on…..
Since the buses out here have no toilets, on longer trips they often make a stop for a potty and food break.  MMMM, chips, popcorn, water and pop, our usual bus diet, we generally try to avoid the dodgy, fried vender food when in transit- for obvious reasons.  We pulled up to the stop and I recognized it but couldn’t quite place when we had been there (we have taken a lot of bus rides).
That is when I realized, we visited this same stop with our driver in our first hours in India.  Wow- how it had changed.  It was strange and sad to be there again.  Strange because it seemed so different.  The building itself, the people and the food weren’t as scary as I remembered them.  We had a routine now, we fit in.  I found the bathrooms, Dan didn’t have to come and wait outside the door- I was all good.  We found the food we needed and bought what we wanted without a problem- we knew what to pay and have even learned some simple Hindi words to help us get by,  I didn’t feel out of place as I walked around and it wasn’t at all strange to me anymore.
In our short time in India, we have had the pleasure and honour of staying with and getting to know some very generous and genuinely amazing people.  India has become our home for the past few months and it is always hard to leave home.  I realized just how much we have grown and changed in the time we have spent here, how much we have learned and just how far we have truly come.
My next few days will be spent reflecting on our trip through this extraordinary country and preparing for the next chapter of our journey- Vietnam.  I wonder if it can top India- or even come close.