It was one in the morning when I stepped off the plane in Delhi, India, nearly 18 hours after I had left my family in Jerusalem. I had thrown myself headlong into an experience completely out of my comfort zone. I knew that I would soon meet my group of fellow Iowan, Taiwanese, Indian, and Russian students, but until then I was alone in the Delhi airport.

I had read about India in school and researched the country, but I knew that researching and experiencing a country were two entirely different things.

My India experience began soon after I passed through customs. I stood by the baggage carousel watching as each of my fellow passengers scooped up their luggage and headed out into the breath-stealing humidity of the Delhi night. I had packed just a small backpack for my month-long trip, and I waited … but my bag never came.

I headed to the lost luggage counter to file a claim and asked one of the men behind the counter if he could help me. He gave me a noncommittal head bob (a cross between a shake and a nod) in response. I came to learn that this is the Indian equivalent of an American “sure” shrug.

I wouldn't get my bag for a week. While I was in Mumbai, it came tightly wrapped in plastic, secured by industrial-strength zipties, looking like it had done battle with a HAZMAT team.

Losing my luggage and coping without a single change of clothing or any personal items was the first of many learning experiences I would have in India. One of the things I was most nervous about was my host family. I didn't know what to expect. Luckily though, I shared a host family with one of the Russian students, and we became good friends.

Most households are multigenerational, as was the case with ours. I bonded quickly with my host grandmother, and although the endeavor wasn't very successful, she spent much time trying to teach me Hindi.

I had difficulty reconciling the fact that my host family had servants. I am an extremely independent person, especially when it comes to household chores, and having someone do things for me that I would normally do was somewhat unnerving. As I became more accustomed to the culture, I found it easier to accept. There was also a language barrier with the servants that made everything a bit awkward, but by the end of my stay, we had developed a strange nonverbal communication that worked surprisingly well and I even spent time hanging out with them, which is somewhat taboo.

While in India I also overcame my picky eating habits. Before the trip I had eaten very little Indian food, and was worried that I wouldn't like any of the food. Many of us were never really sure what we were actually eating, but we learned to have everyone at the table pick a dish and then share.

India was the most amazing experience I could have asked for. I learned more about myself and the world in those three weeks than I could have in a year in school. I have realized that it is better to take a risk and try something new than go the safe route and never have the experience, because whether an experience is good or bad, something can always be learned from it.