Hi everyone,

I have been home for almost a week since getting back from India after a difficult three days of traveling with a delayed and cancelled flight. Although these issues were frustrating, they are minuscule compared to my life-changing trip to India and all the amazing experiences I had abroad.
These past six weeks were action-packed with classes, traveling, hiking, and just exploring Mussoorie, the city we were living in. The trip impacted me personally as it has significantly impacted my perspectives of how I view the world and created a passion for learning about new cultures and new places. Additionally, the trip has taught me to go outside of my comfort zone, try new things, such as different foods, and even go on a hike with no map and walk and explore.

In addition to being impacted personally, my experience impacted me professionally as it brought a new perspective to medicine and helped me understand how drastically medicine can vary in different environments and how populations in these environments use medicine. This was especially apparent when we had the opportunity to shadow in a local hospital and see see consults with patients. Additionally, it has made me much more appreciative of the healthcare we have in the US regarding sanitation in hospitals and even the emergency response systems that we have in our local communities. Experiences like these are vital to my future as a physician, where I will work with patients of various backgrounds, and getting a glimpse into these backgrounds will help me to provide better treatment and create a better sense of understanding with patients.

In addition to medicine, academically, I learned a lot about the history of the Himalayas and the conservation that occurs within the Himalayas. As a student interested in sustainability and taking sustainability classes at Pitt, the opportunity to study conservation in India has thoroughly enriched my studies and opened up new ideas on how to implement sustainability back at Pitt. I also learned wilderness first aid and am now wilderness first responder certified, which has created skills that will enhance my ability to take care of patients as an EMT.

Traveling to India was a life-changing opportunity that I will never forget, and I am thankful that I was able to participate in the Himalayan Health program. The trip has inspired me to continue learning about new cultures and backgrounds and to share these stories and experiences with others.

Hi everyone! I am writing from back in the United states as an official wilderness first responder and 3 difficult days of travel due to flights being canceled and delayed from New Delhi. Even with these travel difficulties, I could not be more thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to India for the past 6 weeks. These past 6 weeks were action packed with traveling, hiking, and learning. We had the opportunity to finish the program in New Delhi, touring the city and learning about its history. We also visited the India gate and went to the place that Ghandi stayed at before his death. After visiting Delhi, we bussed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal during sunrise which was a incredible opporutnity. The Taj Mahal was beautiful and learning about its history was facinating. I am also now a certified wilderness first responder and am exteremlyy excited to apply my new knowldege into my work as a EMT. The Himalayan Health program was a amazing program as we visited many different cities in india, learned about the Himalayan mountains, went to resturants serving diverse Indian food, and even had the incredible opportunity to shadow in a communicty hospital in Mussooire. The experiance impacted me professionally as it brought a new perspective to medicine and helped me undertsadn how drasticlly medecine can vary in different evnioremtns and how populations in these enviorments use medicien. For example, one patient came to see the Doctor after trying to get healed with a ritual in their village. Experiances like these are vital to my future as a physcan where I will work with patients of various backgrounds and getting a glimpse into these backgrounds will help me to provide better treatment and create a better sense of understadnting with patients. In addition to the medicine, academcilly I leanred a lot about the history of the himalays and the conservation that occurs within the Himalays. As a student who is interested in sustainability and who has taken sustainability classes at Pitt, the opprtunity to study conservation in India has throughly enriched my studies and has opened up new ideas on how to implement sustainability back at Pitt. Personally, my time in India has compelty changed how I see the world and has grealty helped me form a more complete global mindset. Although we were in speciies parts of India, just seeing the cultural differences and interacting with locals has given me new persepciives that I will carry for a lifetime. Overall, traveling to India was a life changing opportunity and has inspired me to continue learning about new cultures and backgrounds. I am excited to bring this passion to Pitt to create a more global community that is excited to learn about the background and culture of others.