A trip to India has always been on my bucket list ever since I saw “Eat Pray Love” with Sandra Bullock. Something about the culture seems so rich and vibrant in a way that I have never seen in another culture before. India is the most densely populated country in the world with over a billion people and over two thousand different ethnic groups.

    I had finally saved up over the past two years or so and I made it official and purchased my ticket. I was going to be flying nonstop from New York, JFK to Mumbai, India, which is a grueling seventeen hours but I know it would be worth the flight. I had decided that I wanted to be in India to experience Diwali, which is November 7th, so I would be there November 3rd through the 10th. Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year in autumn in the northern hemisphere. They normally flight kites, release lanterns at night and plenty of singing, dancing, and good food.This was going to be an experience of a lifetime.

    As I board my plane I start to think of how lucky and happy I am to get to have this experience. I was not the most thrilled to be sitting in the same seat for this long but at least I could catch up on my movie watching. Whenever I fly I always like to get a seat by the window so I can watch the world, literally, go by.

    When I first step foot in Mumbai, I am overwhelmed by the energy of the city. There were so many different smells and bright lights, I didn't know where to start. I make my way through the streets around the area where I will be staying for the remainder of the trip and eventually end up going to a small restaurant for dinner. Here I got to talk to some of the locals and I found out that there was going to be a smaller celebration just in the area, which is normal for festivities to occur the whole of Diwali.

    After dinner I staying in the area to witness a couple people dance, drink and talk about what they were going to where for the actual full day of celebration. I had talked to one elderly lady about the great amount of food prep she has been doing for all of the traditional Diwali dishes that she plans on providing for the festival.

    As a head back to my room for the night I pass several children running around the streets, pulling the kites they had crafted for the occasion, behind them. I think about how lucky I am to be in the position I am in and how surreal it is to get to experience the rich and dense culture in India. I cannot begin to explain how happy traveling the world makes me and i wish to be able to share this with all my friends, family and will have plenty of stories to share with my children one day.