India in San Francisco

I was looking through some of my old pictures from a while back at work today and I stumbled across this one, taken with a bunch of people I grew up with when we were on a missions project in the Tenderloin districts of San Francisco. I can't remember why we decided to stop and climb all over this India sign that was on the sidewalk somewhere, but I do remember a lot of homeless shelters, urban culture, and fireworks on the bay while we were there. When I saw this picture today, I asked myself, "what did you think and what did you know about India when you saw this on the sidewalk?" I probably would have said "cool sign" and "not much, besides many of my friends from high school are Indian and that there is a huge Hindu temple five minutes from my house." For anyone who's from the east coast and knows of Hindu temples in the region, I live in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

A lot has changed since this picture was taken in 2004. I've graduated high school and am about to enter my senior year like I was in this picture. I've learned a lot more about India and experienced it firsthand. I've traveled to a couple countries in the mean time and developed a sincere appreciation for experiencing and tasting other cultures. One thing hasn't changed though, I'm still roommates in Michigan with the guy sitting on the left. Hi Jon!