The Last Moment
by Simon Rettenbacher on Saturday, 14 May 2011 at 21:17
Goodbye India....
It was an unbelievable year and definitely the best one in my life.
I can't mention everybody who helped during everything and was standing by my side whatever happened, whatever I did, whatever situation I faced.
I will never forget this experience and all of you. You really are great friends.
The people who stood out were naturally my host family, Amma, Appa, Murish Anna, Jerish Thambi, my grandparents and all relatives. Especially being a brother was new for me and brotherly love something I never experienced but now really know and love.
There was Bhavana Sunder who was a real best friend for me and always knew what to say. Thank you for being exactly what I needed, when I needed it, how I needed it. You are just a jewel for which to find I am deeply thankful.
There was Irene Tavarini, Tiago Bozzola and Alessia Perotti who gave me a blow of being european just when I needed it.
There was AFS in the whole of India and the world but especially Sujatha, Beena, and my amazing counsellor Thanigai who did more for me than I ever imagined.
There was school or moreover another home where I always felt comfortable and supposed to be with everybody wearing a blue uniform and having CV pinned right at the right spot.
There were all the other people whom I just didn't mention but who also contributed their share from the Chaiwalla to my Yoga teacher. All the other friends who gave me the feeling of belonging here and being indian from the first day onwards.
There was Lisa Hoellbacher who was always a friend and help right next to me even though we were separated by thousands of kilometers.
There was Hrushit who showed me during my last day how amazing Mumbai is.
Then at last there was India who gave me this amazing experience.
I am just sitting and writing this with a feeling that I can barely bring down writing. It is an uneasiness. A sadness. Just weird. The beginning of a realisation that everything is over and something else just starts. That feeling of leaving behind everybody you loved and liked and enter an old but now completely unknown world, as alien as India was in the beginning. It moves me deeply to think and now write about it, just recall all the memories I shared with you. It is too much.
So now I am boarding a flight, a travel into the unknown, a new life, a different future. But this year, this life, all you people gave my future a different way, moved my whole personality and changed me deeply from within like only you can do it.
I can not express how I feel for what you have done for me and what you are still bound to do. I can just say a small thank you to weight up the friendliness, care and love I received here in my second home which will always be on the first place in my heart. I could go on writing about forever but the emotions are getting too strong and to intense to bear. So have I said now what is there to say and written down as much I can without having an emotional breakdown. It is not the last time that we will see each other again but it is the last moment of me living in India even though I will never stop being Indian.
I love you all and will always keep you at a special spot in my heart.
I will never stop missing you
THANK YOU
Simon
Hannah Schwarz's I Love India. (NSLI Student 2010)
In my year here, I have fallen in love with India’s people and culture. I have learned so much about this place that once felt so foreign, but I have learned even more about myself. The most important thing is to be open. Open to this culture and its differences, open to change, open to growth within yourself, and most importantly open to the new experiences that you will take with you when you leave India, Shaping who you are for the rest of your life. Absorb and experience all you can - you will sort out how you feel about later. Say YES to Everything.
Often times the unexpected things are what change you the most, so throw reservation out of the window and give yourself to this experience.
Do you want to come to my home for Sai Baba Puja? YES
Do you want to wear a Saree for Dinner? YES
Do you want to learn how to make Parantha? YES.
Embrace these opportunities for these will make shape your time here. The Indian people are unbelievably welcoming so let them open their lives to you and take part in it all. Learning Hindi helped define my experience here. Discovering India’s culture for the first time while learning Hindi was a gift.
Learning Hindi opened up an India to me that most foreigners never see. Indian People are extremely devoted, religious and spiritual. To me this was one of the most beautiful aspects of the Culture. Regardless of your beliefs learn as much as you can, ask questions, take part! Religion is a big part of Indian Identity, so be eager and open to learn.
