These photographs were taken just two weeks into my program, during a 36-hour-long trip to Hampi, an ancient village located in east-central Karnataka. During my time abroad, technological communication with those back home was limited, and while I found solace in the slow nostalgia of cards and letters sent by friends and family, I struggled to find postcards that I connected with to send back to them. Haiku and senryū-style poetry served as a way for my study abroad group to check in with each other when we weren’t physically together. Now they are an acknowledgment of the ways in which my relationships with race and identity shifted during my time abroad – and a nod to my Japanese heritage. These are the postcards I would have sent to my friends and family. They are a reflection of finding contentment through intentional and spontaneous stretching beyond comfort zones.
Kana is a CHID major and Environmental Studies & Entrepreneurship minor. On January 1, 2018, she flew to Bangalore to spend 2.5 months in South India learning about textiles, fabrics, and feminism.
Comments are closed.