After being invited into the village, in Zankvav, I became enthralled by the sights surrounding me.  But one particular scene I curiously and unblinkingly watched was a woman going to the well to fetch water.  In my 25 years, I had NEVER seen someone physically walk to a well and get water.  I had seen it in media, like movies, shows and articles, and I had imagined it when I was reading something describing this action, but I had never witnessed this act in person.  Although this was something so small compared to other unique and enlightening things we were exposed to, it was still exciting for me. And there was something that drew me into this…something that made me feel like the simple life was preferred in most ways than resisted, in my perspective.

The first thing that I learned about the villages was that, although it was like a small community, they still had tensions among the members, like every other community.  I recall the woman who welcomed us into her home speaking of a neighbor they had been having issues with; at the moment, he was passing their house, curiously eyeing the visitors inside.  What was interesting was that although they were not immune to typical tensions within the community, they were immune, even if it were temporary, to outside news and violence.  They woman told us they had not experienced the violence that occurred in Gujarat in 2002.  Moreover, she told us that the news had not even reached about this conflict until much later.  The access of news in the villages is extremely slow and sometimes news never reaches these regions.

Although it is typical for many Indians to eat their meals on the floor, I was not used to it since I had moved out of my parents home and I knew my classmates had not experienced it frequently or at all in some cases.  As someone who prefers to sit on the floor, in general, I found this refreshing.  I remember taking a seat in front of a colorful, straw placemat and taking in what I saw on my plate.  There was a green soup of some sort and a type of white rice and grain bread with an imprint of a flower on it, and there was a mix of lightly spiced vegetables, as well.  After eating at various restaurants in different regions of Gujarat, we were all happy to enjoy a light, home-cooked meal.  This was also the first day none of us experienced stomach issues.  The combination of sitting on the floor, focusing on meal-time banter and eating delicious food and drinking medicinal tea must have been the cure all of us needed that week.

As we all enjoyed our mellow and relaxing, yet informative day and evening in the village, we all began to wonder whether or not we would be able to live in a village like the one we were visiting.  We began to describe the things we would be without, such as internet, cable T.V., malls, and basically most forms of entertainment.  We were going back and forth between which of these luxuries we could live without and which we could not survive without and it was very interesting to see the differences of what our group valued.  The only thing we all agreed we could not live without is the internet.

I began to contemplate if I could actually live in the village; if I could just leave the city life I grew up in, leave the lifestyle I was accustomed to, and ignore the convenience I had been blessed with 25 years.  After reflecting on my personal feelings I realized two things: the first was that if I had grown up in this setting, sans internet, TV accessibility and the conveniences that city dwellers were given, then I would not know what I was missing…I would be used to living a certain way and would not think daily about what I did not have. Because after all, you cannot miss what you never had.

The second thing I realized was that the grass was always greener on the other side.  Although I am not complaining about the life in the city, but sometimes you just need to get away.  The hustle and bustle, which I usually love, can sometimes be overwhelming and it makes one desire some peace of mind.  Living in the village was a romantic and desired thought for me, yes, but I knew I would not be able to live there forever.  I knew that I was used to living a certain way that would challenge my life in a village.  And this was because the grass was always greener on the other side.