RIP Hippo

I know, I know - it’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me on here. Over the past four months, I have completed another three-week business trip to India, started my final year of grad school, and landed back in India one last time for my final four-week trip.

This incredible journey is coming to a close and I’d be lying if I said it’s not bittersweet.

Speaking of bittersweet – my paternal grandmother, affectionately known as Hippo or d'Maw, passed away yesterday, at the age of 81, after getting a bacterial infection after a recent knee surgery. Yes, she is out of pain, yet she is gone and her passing leaves a deep void in my family.

Hippo, around 2009, enjoying her crosswords and reading the paper

This is the first close relative I've lost and it is weird to be so far away from family while all of this is going on. I am thankful for my friends and colleagues here who have provided support to me over the past day, and for all my family who has spoken with and comforted me on the phone.

One thing I learned from my grandparents is that travel and exploration is not a scary thing, but something to be embraced. Seeing pictures of them in foreign countries and hearing their travel stories shaped my mind to realize that I, too, can travel. Their example helped me embrace travel abroad opportunities in college to Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia, which set the stage for my travels to Zimbabwe, Peru, India, and other places after graduation.

Hippo and Papa during their extensive travels

So now, as this South Carolindian stares out across the skyline in Bangalore, almost 9,000 miles away from my family, I want to send this tribute up to Hippo, my grandmother, to thank you for the happy memories of jelly beans, Gameboys, sodas by the pool, your laugh and your jolly nature.

I will remember your love of the arts, lilac-dyed hair, and the massive stack of silver bracelets and necklaces that gently clinked as you moved.

May you rest in peace.

Hippo and me, July 2015