Gypsy Tales

Four years ago I embarked on a journey with some friends to India. Our 14-hour plane ride involved crunched legs, drooped eyes, and an excited curiosity. We landed in Mumbai at midnight, and to our surprise, the night lit up with lights, noises, and people. We hurried to our hotel where we'd only be staying for a few hours because we had another plane to catch. The hotel sat in the middle of poverty. I looked outside my window and saw young children rummaging through trash, dogs aimlessly walking around, and buildings thrashed. My heart sunk. While I had a warm room with comfortable furnishings; nationals were outside looking for food. I didn't want the others to see my sadden disposition, so I decided to close the curtains and sleep. With only four hours of sleep we once again made our way to the airport to board for our final destination -- Tamil Nadu. The humidity was not as bad as it was in Mumbai, nor was the smells. We hopped in a bus to our hotel while enjoying tropical-like weather. Forests lined the roads as we trekked to our hotel. Nationals held pots over their heads as they walked to and from home, children played with soccer balls, and men sat on curbs talking and drinking. A day later, our guide drove us to Kanyakumari, one of the tourist locations in Tamil Nadu. The drive was fantastic. Mountains stood strong and dominate, forests invited us in mysteriously, and the cities we passed through showed more poverty than I'd ever seen. When we arrived at Kanyakumari I noticed how poor the nationals were. Clothes barely covering their skin, skinny hands begging, and parents forcing their children to ask foreigners to give money. I tried hard to forget the poverty, but I couldn't shake it. I had loads of money in my hidden wallet, and these people had nothing. But, these nationals had something more precious than money could buy -- a smile. I tell you, most of the nationals had beautiful smiles across their faces; while us foreigners complained about menial things. Beautifully poor nationals reminded me how money can't buy happiness or satisfaction. I was excited to be in India, but I kept finding things to complain about. Mostly, about how dirty it was, or the odd smells, or something that I wasn't accustomed to because of living in America. The rest of my trip in India I kept reminding myself to smile, to be happy no matter what. I still think of those smiles to this day, and dream of going back some day.