I live in New Jersey and go to school in New York, and consequently, I have crossed the border into New York on many occasions.  During my drives, I often don’t even realize when I cross the border; the only thing that lets me know is a small sign that welcomes me to the state of New York.  Almost a product of its name- the United States of America- this holds true for many states across the United States.  When you travel between neighboring states, the principal language is the same (English), and apart from a few exceptions, people usually both look and sound similar.

As part of my summer interning at Raxa Collective, I am currently staying in Thekkady, which is located in the Indian state of Kerala.  A couple days ago, a few colleagues and I decided to go for a ride to one of the neighboring states, Tamil Nadu.  Because of my experiences in the United States, I expected both Kerala and Tamil Nadu to be very similar.  Boy, was I wrong.  While the only indicator that signaled my entrance into Tamil Nadu was a gate manually operated by a few workers, it was clearly evident that I was somewhere different.  First and foremost, the primary language spoken in Tamil Nadu (Tamil) is different than that of Kerala (Malayalam).  Second, the people in Tamil Nadu even looked somewhat different than those in Kerala; many individuals from Tamil Nadu have a slightly darker skin tone.  Third, even from my short drive, it was obvious that Kerala was a lot cleaner and had less poverty than Tamil Nadu.  There were clusters of garbage on many of the streets in Tamil Nadu and the structures of numerous houses seemed extremely frail.  Additionally, I saw a handful of beggars in Tamil Nadu whereas during my first two weeks in Kerala, I have seen none.

Upon returning to Kerala, I was able to appreciate the relative cleanliness and lack of noticeable poverty in the state.  If anybody from Europe/North America is thinking about visiting India for the first time, then Kerala is a great choice!