The final expectation of every Peace Corps Volunteer is to bring the lessons of your host country home. As an AIF Fellow in India, I aim to do the same. India is an impressive country with many things to learn from. It is a high-density economic powerhouse that is making strides as a superpower nation and challenging the status quo on how to confront big issues. From my experience, the general style, priorities, and progress of India and its peoples makes it one of United States’ greatest partners. Indians, in general, have impressed me by their commitment to education, social development, community values, and establishing practical goals that match the needs of the world and their families.
Their focus on studying engineering, medicine, computer sciences, and business practically meets the needs of the world today. In the United States, the vessel of our huge liberal arts focus is slowly making the turn to invest in STEM education, but still a decade behind India. Yet, our weaknesses are also our strengths.
Our most progressive communities in the United States, ones eager to educate, be open to, and rise up to the global challenges alongside other nations, can teach lessons of brazen confidence, seeking life’s personal passions, and independently creating lives beyond family and social guidance. Indians and Americans, as nations and individuals, can and should unite in more ways to develop. I hope that in my life, I can find partners and friends from India to continue learning and sharing our differences in order to make the world a better place.
