It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later!
“Yeah, we’ll be in St.Petersburg in 24 hours.” “Wow, that’s crazy!” “Tell me about it.” Insert a different city name every two weeks and that would be an accurate depiction of what life was like for us nineteen baboons. We soon learned a thing or two about contorting ourselves to fit into whatever plane, train or automobile we were shuffled into. Besides, it often meant lights-out once any vehicle started to move. However, besides fine-tuning our traveling finesse, BRIC has taught each of us more than we can begin to explain. It will be a while before we digest everything that has been made available to us.
Our experiences in Russia, India and China are almost as rich as the friendships we have developed with each other. Many of us commented that there would be no possible way we would ever meet half the people in the group without BRIC bringing us together. People had preconceived notions about others when they first saw the roster but by the end of the trip, many of us can’t get enough of each other (go figure especially since we’ve been packed together like sardines for the past three months). The truth is, it is so easy to become cooped up in a bubble because it is one’s zone of safety. Staying with the same friends is easy and as much as we would like to make new friends sometimes, the opportunity doesn’t present itself as often as we hope. BRIC has challenged us to go beyond our cliques at Babson and foster new friendships. On the second to the last night of this amazing trip, each of us spent time writing messages in everyone else’s “yearbook”. As much as it felt like a conclusion, we all were well-aware that it is just the beginning….the beginning to a great next semester with the baboons.
Although the group has now separated and many have returned home while a few others are still channeling their wanderlust and embarking on new travel adventures, there is no doubt each of us misses the group. When we share pictures with our families, we will definitely comment on the unforgettable semester we had from the dance parties at the Ashram to the frequent visits to the hot pot hole-in-the-wall in Shanghai to the Zenit game in St.Petersburg. What a group; I don’t think we could have asked for anything better.
Signing out from India,
Joyce, Ronak, Alex