I came back from my India trip a few days ago! It was such an enthralling experience after not visiting since the pandemic. To me, the most rewarding part of the experience was seeing my grandparents and getting to spend time and play with them. I also loved hanging out with my uncle, aunt, and cousin. We played a plethora of games, and it was super fun! I learned a game called “Four Cards”, and it was really fun to play with my whole family. I also played the strategy board game “Parcheesi”, and a similar game called “Aggravation”. “Parcheesi” was one of my favorite childhood games, and it was really nice to play with others I consider champions at the game. Another pleasant surprise for me was that all of my mom’s cousins and their children visited during the same time frame I was in India as well. My mom grew up in a joint family, and I’ve either rarely seen or met any of her cousins and their families before, not including one of my cousins, who lives a mere few minutes away. It was really crazy, with age differences being all over the place, different interests, and being in my grandparents’ house, which…was definitely not meant to accommodate 45 bodies. I personally can’t imagine growing up with so many people, especially as an only child whose cousin (mentioned before) counts as the closest to a sibling I’ve ever had. Overall, the trip was a blast, and I was so happy to eat actual Indian food in India! The Indian restaurants here in the US simply don’t cut it. The spice, the aroma, the look and feel, everything was just perfection! One thing I’ll definitely not miss, however, is the traffic. The streets were so crowded! You could practically throw traffic laws out the window. Signals were ignored, and when there were three clearly-indicated lanes, there were people making their own (I counted a total of six, minus all the bikes). And the heat. I’d never miss the heat. But overall, the experience was so worth it and so much fun. I loved seeing my family again, and I definitely can’t wait to go for a longer trip next time! I want to visit the Himalayas next to admire their natural beauty 😀