India is one of those places that has a reputation – the beggars, the slums, the dirt – but the friendliness and hospitality surprised me.

The Jews of India are unique in that they're Indians before they're Jews because their society is so welcoming toward them.

India is a place that's really hard to put your finger on. When people ask me about my trip, my responses can't really convey what I got out of it. It puts a lot of things in perspective in terms of poverty and wealth. It helps you understand your own place in Judaism.

I have a reputation of having a really bad race before a good one. I had some hard workouts before states and I was feeling the effects from it. I treat every race the same. If I blew up in a dual meet, same as at states, it's not a big deal. I would rather win a national title than a state title.

There were holes, dirt, grime, places where people carved, you can tell there wasn't much when it came to clean up from the former owners.

I was the only person in the world who thought it was a military duty to appear to be in a good mood.