Ten weeks have flown by and my internship with Citizen Matters has come to a quick end. Tomorrow, I will board a flight, but I will not be leaving India just yet. I am looking forward to three weeks of travel around the subcontinent to see what else this country has to offer.

The author on the beach in Goa. Pic: Kate Clark

But soon enough, I will be struggling to nap on 16-hour flight back to Dallas, Texas.

When I picture exiting the Dallas Fort-Worth airport, driving a few miles toward my parent’s house in suburban Texas, I can already feel the culture shock.

I’ll see cows grouped behind wooden fences on the Texas country side and I’ll think of Bengaluru’s cows, so autonomous, though quite cumbersome. I’ll see Americans gripping their venti Starbucks cups and I’ll think of my roommates in Bengaluru, who subtly mocked my large coffee intake. I’ll see cars moving at an appropriate pace (as in not at a constant standstill) and drivers staying in their lane. I won’t hear a constant stream of honking – that I look forward to most. The “Indian food” will consist of naan and tandoori chicken, I’ll have to hunt for some decent South Indian grub. I will walk down empty streets and think of Bengaluru’s packed, excited, alive alleys.

I’ll miss Bengaluru.

Moving to a foreign country is one thing, but moving to a city 10 times the size you are used to makes the experience feel even more foreign. I’ve adjusted to the hustle and bustle, to omnipresent noise, to people everywhere, all the time.

I know I will come back to India, I don’t know when, but I can guarantee it will happen.

To all who have read my stories and blogs this summer, thanks. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them.