I’ve been through it 18 times for 18 years in a row, yet I still feel nervous on the first day of class. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first day of pre-school or my last year of undergrad, the uneasy feeling of butterflies fills my mid-section accompanied by a mix of excitement and partial dread.

I’m enthused by the numerous interesting classes I’m poised to take this year, and at the same time I’m dreading what many other students are as well: late nights, early mornings, and clusters of deadlines to top it off. Regardless, I’m always excited to spend another year learning new things, meeting new people, and creating memories with my friends.

In the midst of all this excitement, however, it seems that summer is starting to become a hazy, distant memory full of fun, excitement, and adventure. By far, the highlight of my summer was studying abroad in India.

I chose this particular location not only because it afforded me an opportunity for spiritual growth, but to experience a different way of life. The first thing I noticed is how friendly everybody is to complete strangers. People want to go out of their way to help you and will attempt to oblige most reasonable requests if at all possible. In a way, it actually reminded me of the difference between Las Vegas and New Orleans.

As quickly as the day I moved onto campus, complete strangers were asking me if I needed help moving my things or just asking how my day was going – behavior completely unexpected to the typical Las Vegan. Furthermore, it was very humbling to see how welcoming, friendly, and happy the people were even though many of them owned not much more than the clothes on their back and a small cot in their open-air tea stall. It’s been said that money can’t buy happiness, and to a certain extant we understand what this is supposed to mean. But the meaning became so much clearer when I met people who were much happier and much poorer than any other people I know. I finally recognized the great beauty found in simplicity and I think if everybody could do the same, we’d all be much happier.

I had plenty of time to really think about this lesson between some Himalayan exploration and meditation with our wonderful go-to monk, Tsering. This experience was entirely more than I expected, and certainly very transformative (as much as I find the use of that word a little unimaginative, it perfectly sums up how I feel). Despite the blurring of memories beginning to set in with classes starting, I know I’ll never forget this experience or the lessons it has taught me. Well, I’ll never forget all of the cows hanging out in the middle of the street, at least.