In July 2015, I went on a month’s long internship to rural India. I lived with 7 other students with a common interest, to make social change. We were situated in the small village of Bannikuppe, just 2 hours south of Bangalore. It was simplistic to it’s very core.

Unfortunately, it is near impossible to find many photos of home.

India is a place like no other I have ever experienced. The community and the house, truly embodied the outer region. It was colourful, simplistic and family orientated. The moment, I first encountered the house, I felt really overwhelmed. It was a tiny house, the size of a one-bedroom apartment in America, yet 8 young adults were to live there for a month. Everything was so different.  An empty room for cold bucket shower and a pit toilet outside. The house was as basic as basic gets, only receiving power for a few mere hours in the day.

I have mixed feelings about this building. It’s use of bare essentials, and it’s lack of amenities really spoke to me. It reminds me of the unnecessary materials we have today. There was no TV room, because there is no TV, there were no cries over who’s turn to charge their phone, because there was no cell network and no internet. The building truly represented the idea of family and necessities.

This building has a very special place in my heart, as it represents everything I went to India for. It embodies my journey with the Bannikuppe community, the hardships faced by the members of the community, and the love I have their culture.