Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

This is a photo that I took on Diwali in India. I spent ten months in India working for a development organization. I lived in a small city called Udaipur with a host family. For me, Diwali was both an unforgettable celebration and one of those eye-opening moments when it hits you just how different life often is from what you experience in your everyday life. Diwali is known as the "Festival of Lights," and it's typically marked by the use of copious amounts of fireworks and other exploding devices. I have heard that every year on Diwali, emergency rooms fill up with endless numbers of eye injuries. I recall my host father returning to our home with a trunk-full of fireworks, proclaiming "I have purchased the largest firecracker in Udaipur!" We spent that night together as a family, blowing up firecrackers and nearly killing each other at every turn.