Exercise and Sport Science student Goretti Pham spent Fall term 2013 studying and interning at the Center for Social Medicine in India through IE3 Global Internships.

Coming back home I was welcomed by all of the things I left behind: my family, my close friends, good food, and a large, warm bed. It was so easy for me to fall back into my old routine that for a day or two it felt as though I never even went to India! It frightened me a little so I had to revisit the journal I kept while abroad. Reading through my journal I was able to take a step back and really look at everything that had happened now that my nerves are calm and I’m back in a comfortable setting. Reading through my notes I realized that I really learned a lot during my internship; I learned about myself, about my career, about India, and even about my own country from another person’s perspective.

Through India’s very conservative culture I was able to step back and look at my own culture through their lenses. Neither is better than the other, rather there are just two different ways to go about life, however, being in India made me appreciate the beauty in concealing your body as well as appreciating the present moment. The Indian concept of time has always boggled my western mind. They never rush, they are always relaxed and do not often plan ahead; it is a beautiful thing, really. Westerners often worry so much about the future that they tend to forget to live in the present.

Follow the link below to Goretti’s original entry on the IE3 Field Notes Blog: http://ie3global.ous.edu/blog/comments/accessory_and_necessity/