The Pyle Inside

India…Ethiopia…Vietnam…America… all have different customs, people, and beliefs. They are in different parts of the world. But there is one similarity between them. I once called them home.

I remember the first time I was traveling. I was in my sister’s birthplace America, and going back to my birthplace India. I was very excited because I was only three years old, and I didn’t realize that it would be seven years until I went back to America. It was rather hard for me to travel. I have spent a lot of time on planes and I am kind of airsick. It also had a big impact on my school work and social life. It was surprising how different India and Vietnam were, and how similar Ethiopia and India were.

Eventually, though, I got used to the changes. I accepted that I was a global citizen, and instead of begging my mother and father to not move again, I started packing my bags early. But going to all these places wasn’t useless; I learnt many things. In India, I learnt that school work is very important. In America I learnt that extracurricular activities are just as important.

My nomadic lifestyle has changed my family and I for the better. For example, once I showed my mom a Math test. I had gotten 98 out of 100. “Well done,” she said. “But why did you get two points off?” She’s actually gotten better. If we were still living in India she wouldn’t have even said well done, but just asked me why I hadn’t gotten a 100 percent! Being a global citizen has made me more open to different cultures, but has also evolved my sense of being Indian. No matter where my family and I were, we still celebrated Indian festivals, ate Indian food, and felt proud to be Indian.