10.5 Hours Away

KL-YES Abroad India 2018-2019 Just a blog about my exchange..

[indiamorelikewindia-blog]

First Months

I’ve been here for two months now, and a lot has happened. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, and I’ve loved. I can’t say that I don’t miss the US, where my friends and family are. But I also have made new friends and family here.

Whether it’s simple walks with my grandmother or going to the movies with my new friends, I’ve discovered how to enjoy the small things. I would say that my days have been generally happy, but I have experienced homesickness and culture shock as well.

Things are a bit different here; my family always eats dinner together, I’m not allowed to roam the city alone (for obvious differences in safety), and sometimes I don’t realize when I’m doing something wrong.

I’ve moved from a town of less than two thousand people in rural Iowa to a city with over twelve million residents. My diet has changed from a mix of junk food and grilled chicken to rice, dosa, and idli. Classrooms have different dynamics and so do homes.

But if I’ve learned anything in the past two months, it’s that we must CELEBRATE our differences. Neither way is right nor wrong. While we may first believe certain things about a culture that are irrational or ridiculous from afar, actually stepping into another culture helps us understand why things are the way they are and why we shouldn’t have judged so harshly in the first place.

So, while I miss my home in the US, I’ve found a new home here as well.

#yesabroad #travel #culture #india

[indiamorelikewindia-blog]

Here’s a cute pic of my fellow cohorts and I on the day we left :)

[indiamorelikewindia-blog]

Newark and Beyond

I know it’s been a while since my original post (about a month now), but I’ve been a tad bit busy adjusting to my surroundings. When I left off, I was just leaving home. Saying goodbye to my friends and family, at the time, seemed easy. And perhaps it was my excitement, but I felt as though my transition was going perfectly.

 I arrived late on the 1st to the La Guardia airport, where I was transported a couple of hours later to the Long Island University campus. This destination was a short one, but I still remember it quite clearly. There were two other countries being orientated with us, Indonesia and Thailand. Me and a couple of other girls arrived late to the campus and late to the opening session. After all the activities of the night, our alumni and us went out into the courtyard of the nearly empty college campus. We spent the night playing sardines and having fun in the darkness. The next morning we woke up for breakfast and morning sessions which promptly ended with the clinking of plastic cups and the sipping of sparkling apple cider. This marked the true beginning of our exchange year.

Right before we went to Newark airport to prepare for our 13 hour flight, we took pictures with India’s flag. The three hours we spent on the shuttle to the airport felt like some of the longest hours of my life. The sun beat down, the heat felt insufferable (although nothing compared to when I stepped out of the airport in Delhi) and I felt the time pass by at a slower pace than normal. Once we arrived at the airport, I was rejuvenated and slightly crazed with the idea that I WAS GOING TO INDIA (FOR A YEAR)! And so I annoyed my cohorts, paced back and forth, and spoke to some interesting and excited strangers in the airport. The flight was slightly delayed, causing tension to build inside of me a little bit more. My emotions were bouncing off the walls. Finally, we boarded the plane after what felt like an eternity. This is where I leave you, I’ll send some other updates soon about the orientation in Delhi and afterward, but I still need some time to settle down and figure things out. 

[indiamorelikewindia-blog]

Day 1: Leaving Home

A lot of things have been swimming around in my mind recently about the days that lay ahead of me. Part of me is scared, more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. It’s a different kind of fear than the kind I normally face. This time I’m not just walking through a haunted house or giving a big presentation in front of my English class. Instead, I’m going to spend a year of my life in a place completely foreign to me. But that fear is muddled together excitement, for I am anxious for the days to come. I plan to make the most out of my year, and spend my hours anticipating the year in front of me. 

At my national pre-departure orientation, I was told of how there would be highs and lows throughout the year. And while I know this is true, I can’t help but feel that this will be one of the happiest years of my life. Part of the reason I decided to blog in the first place was to document the roller coaster of emotions that I am bound to experience. But besides this, I also want my friends and family to be knowledgeable about how I’m doing and what is happening in my life there without contacting me every day. I plan to only contact people from the United States once a month in order to keep myself grounded in India during my year.

I still won’t have left the country by the end of the day, but saying goodbye to my family and friends is part of this journey as well. But I am ready to dive into my life abroad, so saying goodbye isn’t so bad because I get to say hello.