In six days, I fly out to New Delhi.
Today, shots were fired at the university bookstore.
You might wonder why I would say those two things, one after the other, but it provides a perfect example of something that has been on my mind for years. Any time I tell people that I am travelling to India, the most common response is "Aren't you scared for your safety? Aren't you worried about your health?" Yeah. I am. Sometimes.
But most of the time I am not.
It's not that India is particularly safe. It's not. In fact, a lot of my preparations prior to travel are in regards to my safety. Today, for example, I received my supply of medications for the trip, including my emergency asthma inhaler which I rarely ever use in the USA but refuse to go to Bodh Gaya without. I spoke to my family regarding health insurance and if I need emergency trip insurance. I bought a mosquito net and high-deet bug repellent to ward of mosquitos, carriers of malaria and dengue fever. I found where I keep my spare iodine tablets. I looked up the number of the US embassy in Delhi, and will be sending that to my family along with my itinerary.
India is not particularly safe. Neither is America.
In India, I've had dysentery multiple times. It is a disease that kills people if left untreated or if it attacks the young, elderly, or otherwise compromised. In America, I've had the flu, and the country is preparing for an especially early and vicious flu season. It is a disease that kills people every year in America, especially the young, elderly, or otherwise compromised. I've never been taken by ambulance, on a stretcher, to the hospital due to any disease in India. I've seen my father taken in to the hospital in just that manner with a very bad case of the flu.
The worst injuries I've seen among people I know have all taken place in one country and one context: skiing in the USA. I have one friend who broke most of the bones in her face. Even more tragically, a schoolmate of mine, dearly beloved by her classmates, was killed in a skiing accident just a few weeks ago.
But the flu, skiing, a car accident on the freeway: these are all dangers we are accustomed to. It's not that India is more dangerous than America, it's that when we go to a foreign country, for the first time we are forced to face new fears. I am accustomed to the flu and so I don't fear it, even though it could kill me. But needing to fear my own drinking water, that's new and so it's scary.
In America, I don't generally need to worry about the police, but a school shooting is a real threat. In India, it's the opposite. No more, no less.
Today, shots were fired at the university bookstore. Fortunately, no one was injured and the police chased and caught the suspect. But it happened.
Today, shots were fired at the university bookstore.
You might wonder why I would say those two things, one after the other, but it provides a perfect example of something that has been on my mind for years. Any time I tell people that I am travelling to India, the most common response is "Aren't you scared for your safety? Aren't you worried about your health?" Yeah. I am. Sometimes.
But most of the time I am not.
It's not that India is particularly safe. It's not. In fact, a lot of my preparations prior to travel are in regards to my safety. Today, for example, I received my supply of medications for the trip, including my emergency asthma inhaler which I rarely ever use in the USA but refuse to go to Bodh Gaya without. I spoke to my family regarding health insurance and if I need emergency trip insurance. I bought a mosquito net and high-deet bug repellent to ward of mosquitos, carriers of malaria and dengue fever. I found where I keep my spare iodine tablets. I looked up the number of the US embassy in Delhi, and will be sending that to my family along with my itinerary.
India is not particularly safe. Neither is America.
In India, I've had dysentery multiple times. It is a disease that kills people if left untreated or if it attacks the young, elderly, or otherwise compromised. In America, I've had the flu, and the country is preparing for an especially early and vicious flu season. It is a disease that kills people every year in America, especially the young, elderly, or otherwise compromised. I've never been taken by ambulance, on a stretcher, to the hospital due to any disease in India. I've seen my father taken in to the hospital in just that manner with a very bad case of the flu.
The worst injuries I've seen among people I know have all taken place in one country and one context: skiing in the USA. I have one friend who broke most of the bones in her face. Even more tragically, a schoolmate of mine, dearly beloved by her classmates, was killed in a skiing accident just a few weeks ago.
But the flu, skiing, a car accident on the freeway: these are all dangers we are accustomed to. It's not that India is more dangerous than America, it's that when we go to a foreign country, for the first time we are forced to face new fears. I am accustomed to the flu and so I don't fear it, even though it could kill me. But needing to fear my own drinking water, that's new and so it's scary.
In America, I don't generally need to worry about the police, but a school shooting is a real threat. In India, it's the opposite. No more, no less.
Today, shots were fired at the university bookstore. Fortunately, no one was injured and the police chased and caught the suspect. But it happened.
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