The Adventures of a Little Princess: "I have bacon on my glasses!"

It's been a long month+ since I updated. I've done so many things and crossed off many experiences from my bucket list that I don't even know where to begin in blogging.

So, I've decided to tell you about my last food experience.

After searching for the place for two hours, the meal started with a thick milkshake, made with ice cream; American standards, not Indians' (cold milk with ice and no ice cream - aka cold flavored milk!). Next, real nachos - tortilla chips topped with melted cheddar cheese, beans, onions, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream. Savory and delicious, exactly what we were looking for. AND just when I thought life couldn't get any better, the meal continued with my first bacon cheeseburger in 3 months. Needless to say, it was glorious. 10 oz of wonderfully cooked beef. Juicy, but well done. 6 slices of beautiful bacon (not exactly US bacon, but closer than in Ireland). Onion rings, tomato, and lettuce topped with BBQ sauce. Fries deep fried to perfection, lightly salted and seasoned. The meal ended with a huge brownie sundae split between three of us - gooey, hot fudge, two huge scoops of vanilla ice cream, and a soft, warm brownie. Thank you, Hard Rock Cafe Pune.

Though we left feeling like this:

It was well worth the feelings brought from our comfort foods.

The reason I choose to write about this and not the number of other things I've done (which I will quickly recap in photos in the end of this blog) is because I think sometimes we're afraid to feel like Americans or tourists, and I don't like that we feel that way. We spend our semesters abroad trying to fit into the local culture - we learn new languages, eat new foods, wear different clothes, and when we start to feel homesick, we push those feelings aside like they're bad or illegitimate.

I'm here to say, I am homesick and I am proud of it. Sure, I'm loving the adventures - I loved riding camels into the desert, bamboo rafting through a tiger reserve, playing Holi with locals, riding an elephant, and speaking broken Hindi to our driver in Rajasthan. I wouldn't trade any of my experiences if I had the chance. God is blessing me with so many opportunities, I wouldn't dare be upset about fulfilling my dreams. Yet, I also find homesickness a blessing - the blessing of having family, friends, and a house to come home to, the blessing of enjoying the culture you were raised in, and the blessing of no matter how far you roam, you will always have a home to be homesick for.

So, instead of feeling ashamed, I'm grasping my homesickness. When I want a burger I'll buy a burger, and I won't feel guilty about it. When I want to call a friend, I'll call them. When I want to watch an American movie, I'll watch it. I am American, not Indian, and not fully Irish, and I don't have to be ashamed of that.

I'm still grasping every day in India. My internship is going well, and I'm wrapping up my classes. I have a few more trips planned in these last couple of weeks that I'm really looking forward to. But, I can still look forward to going home with anticipation, and I can admit that I'm homesick.

Rant over - now a picture recap of the past month =)