When I stepped off my plane into the city of India’s future, two months ago, I could have never imagined the number of great experiences I would have, here in Bangalore. Never would I have expected to experience the thrill of attending an Indian wedding with over 800 people, but through the invitation of one of the interns, whose boss I met while writing an article on her, I could. Nor would I have thought I’d be sipping wine and talking sports with the top CIO’s of Bangalore’s rising business sector, after an evening on risk management at the Leela Palace. By following an intern working for an event management company, I could. For sure, I would never have expected to spend four hours chanting and dancing in a Hare Krishna temple, followed by an evening of enlightened conversation with a Canadian monk. By hearing about the festivities of the Lord Balarama Appearance Day through a friend I made in the city, I could.
A few days ago, one of the interns told me how clever it was of Leave UR Mark to put their interns together in a penthouse, and I agreed with him: not only is it a real convenience to have your place to stay taken care of so luxuriously, but it also an incredibly easy way to get to know other interns that come from all over the globe, which is an adventure in and of itself. Add to that the enormous, late-night movie screenings on the back of the mall next doors – which you can see from the complex’ swimming pool – and it is easy to see why Mantri Greens is such an amazing place to stay.
Leave UR Mark “Common Room”
What my time here in India has shown me most of all, though, is the view-altering experience of living in a completely different place than your own: sure, while traveling through India you may see more places, but you can only really get to know a city, and India, once you’ve been there for a while. Once you’ve acquainted yourself to such a degree that you start greeting some of the auto-rickshaw drivers that stand waiting for customers in various parts of the city, recognizing them from your previous travels, Bangalore will really start to open up to you, and become all the more enjoyable. What my extraordinary experiences and Leave UR Mark’s placements I have visited have shown me, from micro-finance projects to schools for the deaf, is that they open possibilities for interns and volunteers to gain insights into Indian life that are impossible to gain through simple traveling alone.
As for me, it is only after two months of work in Bangalore that I realize fully how privileged an experience I’ve had, getting up close with so many life-changing projects, being a part of so many different events, and getting to know so many amazing people. India and its life have made me realize that I do not ever want to stop traveling or meeting new people, and I’m very grateful for that realization.
