March 5, 2025
And We Always Circle Back to the Alchemist …
Today I worked for my foundation, I worked on my GCIL project, I worked on UW paperwork, I felt ill and had to take a nap before waking up and working again. Despite it all, I will focus on the experiences of the day instead of all that work. I am sure there is not one among us who ever willingly chooses to reminisce over the workload of week 9 in the quarter system.
After my blissfully unaware sleep in a bed I did not yet know had bed bug exposure, I woke and went off to work at my favorite cafe in JP Nagar, an area that all of GCIL would soon escape to for a last minute hotel. There are always cricket matches playing at Linto Coffee and I’ve realized that is the most cricket I have ever watched, and probably ever will since I was not lucky enough to score a ticket to an in-person match during my time in Bengaluru.
After the utter chaos of an emergency meeting, a quick pack and move over to JP Nagar Stage 2, and much more work that shall not be named, I was blessed with the simplest of gifts: quality conversation over a german beer. The most beautiful thing to me in a travel-based program is to be transported across the world, only to finally meet your neighbor for the first time. There have been so many instances of missed connections in Seattle, I cannot believe I have not met my current GCIL classmates before, after discovering we have oh so much in common. It could be tragic, if you chose to view it in such a light, but I can only chuckle at the silly coincidence.
Focusing on shared experiences in unpredictable locations certainly makes for far more interesting stories. A balcony in Jaipur, a rooftop in Mysuru, an airport in Tamil Nadu, poolside (and fireside) in the jungle of Kodagu, a beach in Puducherry, an under-marketed tattoo shop in Koramangala, regenerative farms in Madhya Pradesh, and of course, in hallways above the Indian Overseas Bank. These are just some of the places where I have formed heartfelt connections that, in the tune of the comedy that is Life, occur in the most remote or seemingly random locations. I could never have dreamed up all the incredible places we’ve been or the mind-opening dialogues we’ve shared, but I feel great peace in the idea that our time here was exactly what it was meant to be. Maybe you feel like you’ve carved your own path in Bengaluru, or maybe you’ve simply drifted along, like a coconut boat. Either way, all I know is that I was meant to be here; and with all of you.
I want to leave you with a quote from Paulo Coelho, as my life has felt like the Alchemist every day on this journey with GCIL. “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”
By,
Kelsey