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India, day one... I was in a "small town" outside of Delhi. This not so small town is home to over a million. On my morning stroll, I got my first glimpse of India - my eyes wide open at every drop of stimulation passing me by. The sights, the smells, the movement & motion and oh boy, the transportation. Cows wrangling their way through the traffic filled with rickshaws carrying anything and everything you could imagine all at once. Was this rush hour? Where am I? I continue walking the dirt roads of Faridabad to come across the most magical encounter that just simply snuck its way into my day. I walked past a beautiful, old building - bright orange walls, rustic, yet vibrant with an electric blue gate out front. I stopped to take photographs. What happened after that could not have been more incredible… I peaked in through not so pearly gates to see children - giggling, looking back at me with the same endearing intrigue. Two young girls, wearing an entire ensemble of bubble gum pink stood together, snickering. Two teenage boys came up to the gates to banter around and acknowledge their innocent onlooker. Soon enough, I was encouraged & invited in. Around the corner stood a woman with the brightest eyes I've ever seen, holding her new baby, beaming with excitement toward the arrival of a new guest. It wasn't long before the principal came to swoop me up and take me on a tour of the campus. Class was in session on the dirt ground outside and open air classrooms echoed with melodic replies from giddy young children on the other side of those orange walls. There was so much life there. The presence in their soul was marked by the sparkle in their eyes, gleaming.. We walked into each and every classroom. I watched the world go around as those children greeted me so endearingly, reciting all that they know. I watched performances of poems and songs and math equations and reading and all that you can imagine coming from the brilliant minds of the world's most creative culture: children. The principal wrapped up the tour after introducing me to every teacher and nearly every child of that school. I was speechless, smiling ear to ear. After an hour or two of the greatest Indian tour you could dream of, I sat for chai and snacks. They opened their doors and greeted me like the finest guest you would invite into your home. As I was leaving, they told me that today was finals day. The day of their most important exams. My jaw dropped, astonished to find out that they dropped all their plans to welcome in this wandering stranger. Alas, my first day marked the end of it all: the beginning of the rest of my life. (Years later, these are some of the most compelling photographs I've ever taken)