“The top of one mountain is the bottom of another.” This phrase is something I say pretty often to myself, but I never quite understood it until I came to the Himalayas.

I’ve been in India for about a month now, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my academic and personal life. When I chose to study abroad in India, it was driven by a desire to see my country from a different perspective. A perspective that wasn’t tainted by family routines or the familiar streets I walk every time I visit. I wanted to see India by myself. I wanted to experience its beauty, complexity, and contradiction through my own eyes and on my own terms. Being here has shown me that Indian culture is far more diverse than I ever imagined. While I am familiar with many of the practices here, I was blown away by how much I didn’t know. From the severe environmental issues affecting these mountain communities, to the diversity of religions and ethnic groups coexisting here, and even the subtle social norms that vary from village to village. Each day here has felt like I am seeing India in a whole different light.

As a student interested in medicine and public health, my greatest shock has been learning about the healthcare system here. Seeing firsthand how many people in the mountains struggle to access care has reframed what health equity means to me. Emergency care is limited and the terrain makes transportation of any kind nearly impossible in critical times. Listening to local health care workers advocate for community-based interventions has helped remind me why I chose this path. Being here in a totally different country, a totally different landscape, a totally different city has helped me see medicine as what it should be. Meeting people where they are. Not just in huge hospital buildings, but in villages, in hillsides, in homes built of stone, in lives where the outside world seems far.

Outside of coursework, this program has pushed me to grow in ways I can’t yet articulate. But one thing has been for sure. I know I will leave with a deeper sense of responsibility. A responsibility for my future patients, for my future community. I feel it even right now as I am sitting in Mussoorie. This journey is teaching me that growth is not linear. Not just because none of the stairs here are linear. But because every hill, peak or mountain I climb reveals another in front of me. And I no longer feel daunted by that. Instead, I feel grateful. Grateful for learning that there really ain’t no mountain high enough.