Written by: Neha Kohli
Studying Philosophy and Economics, Neha spent the Spring semester studying abroad in Peru. Before Peru, Neha worked for several months at El Banco de Alimentos—a food bank in Cochabamba Bolivia. Central in the Andes Mountains, she spent time searching for answers to these big questions. While abroad, Neha conducted research on food insecurity in Bolivia, grounding her questions in something real, something to look for.
Once a week, Neha released an email blog to her friends back at Rice all the way from Cochabama. Sharing food for thought and her reflections on purpose and growth, she put self reflection at the forefront of her philosophy. Her days were filled with ethnographic interviews, field visits, and community meals—but also with questions that don’t have simple answers. Neha did not just ask meaningful questions in the classroom, she lived them in real time.
A powerful part of Neha’s time in Bolivia included finding community—in the food bank, and beyond. Whether she spent time making tasty humintas with her friend Pame’s family in Clisa, or laughing with coworkers after a long day of fieldwork, Neha wrote often about the generosity of those who welcomed her. Those who gave her a sense of home.
Becoming the first in her family to get a passport, Pame told Neha that she wants her nieces and nephews to grow up with the kind of possibility that travel documents offered. Seeing small acts of hope changed the meaning of impact for Neha. She found that asking questions is essential to humanities, but so is listening to the lives of those around us.
So you might be wondering, how do we measure life? Is it in years? Is it months, weeks, days, hours, or seconds? What about moments? Neha’s reflections show that a life is measured in something far more intricate than time and space. Over three thousand miles from home, Neha demonstrated that life is measured in community, in empathy, and in forgiveness. It is measured not by the passing of time, but by the number of hearts that we can touch.