I can’t believe three months has passed since I first set foot on Indian soil. It seems like yesterday when my head was spinning from the honking horns, and the crowded, dusty markets, and the million colorful saris on the streets and the new languages floating past my ears. Still, so much has happened since July 7th. I’ve learned all about the process of development editing as the Higher Ed division practices it. I got stuck on a bus for 24 hours when we were diverted by landslide after landslide on my trip to Himachal Pradesh. I’ve served bread at 5:30 in the morning at the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara. I’ve seen temples and tombs and beggars and sadhus. I even had a glass of tea at a drain party and lived to tell of it. I have triumphed over the Delhi belly.
Last night, Srini asked me what I found different in India. I told him everything except the pigeons. Day is night here and night is day. Even the light switches are the opposite: on is off and off is on. But then I had to think again. There are more commonalities than that. The people I’ve met at Pearson have reminded me of my colleagues at home. They are passionate about the work they’re doing because they know it makes a positive impact on the world. They are fiercely intelligent and talented, witty and wise. They made my stay here a positive delight, and I have caught myself tearing up on more than one occasion thinking about how to say goodbye. I have met kindred spirits here with whom I share so much in common: a love of books and language and art and history and humor and natural beauty. I will take those friendships with me back to the United States where I am positive they will endure.
Thank you to all of you for sharing your office with me these past months, for welcoming me into your culture, your business and your lives. I will return to the States a much richer person than the one I left behind at the gates of O’Hare airport.
Vicki Krajewski