Chaos, energy and resources mages from a variety of Indian cities reveal a rich pattern of chaos, energy and resources, both human and natural. It’s seemingly impossible as an outsider to understand what each cultural element signifies or how the pieces are really woven together. O

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

India | Monday, January 14, 2013 | 8 photos

Since my first trip outside the US as a 17-year-old, where I was shocked by the realization of how different my life was from the global norm, I have loved to explore foreign cities, villages and countryside. Travel jolts me. I return with a clearer sense of my own culture, biases, and a renewed sense of richness. I return with a greater ability and desire to relate to people from very different backgrounds. A heightened interest in these different experiences ironically confirms what I already know but seems to blur in the grind of domestic necessity. Humans at the most basic level are the same everywhere. But we make life interesting by creating differences. Food, music, art. What we choose to value and how we choose to value it creates meaning.

A trip to Oman would be an opportunity for me to understand how a country can evolve economically while simultaneously preserving key cultural artifacts and its identity. Shooting and journaling in a foreign culture while receiving expert coaching will equip me with documentary skills otherwise inaccessible to me. If selected, I will take this knowledge forward and share my learnings with a broader audience.