Dragonflies low and two more slide on the grass,staying close to comfort as we wait for the rain. The grass is squeaky like clean hair, a putting green on a severe incline. We surround architecture that implies reverence but are given no guidelines for behavior. So what do we do? We talk. We eat. We laugh and revert to childlike games as the moment represents discovery.

View from atop Charminar, Hyderabad, India

Bouncing like a pinball in an auto rickshaw, Hyderabad is our palette and our canvas and a master copy. One "teacher" and four more of ten years difference make calls to pursue the grounds where people roam and frequent in their daily grind. Market, food, nature, market, food, revelry. We pursue the people who embody the culture of focus, giving mental context to the context of history. First faces.

Well, first there is us. As a group that feels confident and comfortable together, we can now look outward together and be open to the new. One alone without confidence is not ready to engage for fear of survival and what they don't know. In a group with shaky foundation, everything looks blurry, and second guesses overtake an embrace of vulnerability. First, we must be solid and whole, then discover.

Mentality can sicken and heal. Travel starts in the mind; it pushes us off the starting blocks and toward anything with a fresh perspective. A place can have everything or nothing, depending on mentality. That is why a creative and open-minded small towner and a big city-seizer with enthusiasm for the new can take any location and make it worth words, worth money and time, worth changing perspective, worth learning.

Open blocks to explore hundreds more, we feel strong moving into a space we somewhat know, a city we sheepishly call our home, from our hostel for the homeless. Bulk home goods to crispy street food, we were happy. Dirty lake walks to all-star city specialities, we were happy. We were happy by choice, equipped with freedom and company that subscribed to the daily magazine of discovery.