Mr.P's Challenge 28

143. First experiences can be defining. Cite a first experience that you have had and explain its impact on you. (University of Pennsylvania)

I was in Delhi during my school quarter break. Throughout the trip we were traveling by cars. At one point though, we didn’t have a car and we were running late for lunch at someone’s house. So we decided to take the metro. This was the first time I ever traveled in a metro. I was with my mom and my twin sister at the time. This experience was very strange and new to all three of us. We were standing in front of the ticket counter, looking completely lost, as if we just arrived from a different planet! I was really fascinated by the whole experience, but at the same time I was a little nervous about it. India is not one of the safest places to travel like that, or so I had thought. I soon realized that I was wrong. The impression that people have of the Delhi metros is wrong.

The people who generally travel through the metros are the working middle class. People at the metro station were extremely kind and helpful, and that is not something you see everyday in India. I was a little surprised by the way they treated us and helped us out. I have lived my entire life in India and that experience showed me another side of my country. This experience made me more proud of my country than I already am. I loved that metro experience, and when I told my friend about it, who has lived his entire life in Delhi, he responded by saying “I have never traveled through the metro.” I was a little shocked when I heard this, but then I realized it made sense. He never had the need to travel by the metro. I really wish that everyone has the experience of traveling by the metro just like I did, and they will all see the side of India, which I had discovered in my experience.