January 24, 2008 - page 3

Next stop were the caves in Ellora and Ajunta, which were temples and monasteries intricately carved into rock faces, and then a flight to reach Cochin on the southwestern coast of India. In Cochin, we explored Christian and Jewish sites and did some fabulous last-minute shopping. We had a final free day during which some opted for the beach, some went on a backwater cruise, and others (including me) did even more shopping. Then it was back to Delhi for some final sight-seeing, and then back to home.

On the flight, I sat next to an Indian man named Ravi who was headed to Vegas for a business conference. He asked what had brought me to India, and since it was an 11-hour flight, I decided to give him the long version of the story, explaining about CentreTerm and study abroad. He was incredibly impressed that I attended a school that so emphasized going abroad, saying the Indians that his company hires often have such a limited view of the world. He said it was difficult to send them to conferences because they had no travel experience and didn't know how to deal with different cultures. He kept trying to stress to me just how lucky I was to have these opportunities, and then in a

final act of Indian hospitality, he gave me half of his Snickers.

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