4 Year Anniversary in India

The other day I reached my 4 year Anniversary of living in India.  Instead of writing out some sappy, inspirational post which I would normally do, I'll share what I wrote on a Facebook message since it sums up how I've gotten this far:

4 years ago I boarded a flight in New York City thinking I was going to transform the Indian football industry. 18 hours later I arrived in Delhi realizing that I first needed to transform myself to even survive in this country. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this 4 year journey. So many people to list, but you know who you are. Special thanks to Sukhvinder Singh, Tulika Saxena Singh, Sweekar Kapoor,Randeep Baruah, Priyasmita B Baruah, Raunak Balasubramanian, Karan Jindal,Dhyan Saamya, Tarun Chaudhry, Vipin Suri. Looking forward to many more years in this special place...

Transformation and surrender are critical for anyone looking to make a difference in India. I'm fortunate that I became aware of this quickly in my time here and, as a result, have been able to enjoy a fun and productive time adventuring along in this country and through the Indian football landscape.

And these people whose names I've listed have all consistently contributed to my life in India through multiple ways. Honestly I could write a whole blog on how much these people have supported me over these past 4 years as this country can be challenging for a somewhat spoiled non Hindi speaking American whose family lives thousands of miles away. Friends do become family quickly over here which is one of my favorite parts of living in India.

All I can say is that I'm so happy that I chose to take a leap of faith and move here 4 years ago and, more importantly, that I chose to stay through any challenges and moments of doubt which surfaced during the course of this ongoing adventure.  I've grown so much in this time and I'm excited to experience whatever the future has in store....

And now because I'm a sucker for lists and blatant self promotion, here are my 4 top professional moments in India during the 4 years I've lived here:

Closing the FCBarcelona - Conscient Football Partnership
Celebrating Libero Sports India's 1 year anniversary with my parents
Celebrating my 32nd birthday whitewater rafting along the Ganges with all my colleagues in Rishikesh
Closing the Liverpool FC - DSK Group partnership

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