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      I had many opportunities to go on different mission trips through the Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) organization I was part of at the vet school at Auburn University. When I read about a trip to India, I immediately knew that was where I belonged. I had never been out of the country before, so I knew I was in for a surprise and quite a culture shock. It was a trip that I almost can’t even describe. The people, the country, the cities, the animals, the culture… it was all amazing. I was in India for eight days. I went through the organizations CVM and India Gospel League (IGL). IGL completely took care of us when we were there and I felt very safe, yet I got to experience so many aspects of southern Indian life. We visited the city of Salem and also traveled to 5 different very rural villages to provide veterinary care. We treated dogs, goats, cows, water buffalos, some bunnies and chickens, and one cat. It was a very interesting trip from the veterinary perspective because you really don’t have many supplies to work with, and forget diagnostics! Other highlights of the trip included interacting with the children in the orphanage located at the IGL base camp where we stayed in the evenings. I also enjoyed meeting the local people, communicating with them without knowing each other’s language and experiencing their incredible hospitality. It was a trip I will never forget and I am looking forward to returning to the beautiful country of India.