Travelling in the UK

Happy New Year! I am writing on a train from London to Aberdeen, Scotland where I will be staying with Caitlin. The train, just like everything on this continent, is so different than everything in India! It has been a really interesting transition back to the Western world. The things that have been hardest to get used to are things like being able to drink the water – I still keep spitting in the shower, and all those habits I picked up. London was very overwhelming at the beginning but it was interesting – the things that overwhelmed me most were things like the crowds and the noise, which were much worse in India but just so, so different. And it’s funny, while I would get so frustrated with how unorganized and loose things were in India, I’ve been feeling the opposite here and getting frustrated with how strict everything is here. I’ve come across so many obstacles while planning the rest of my trip around Europe that I could have easily talked (or bribed) my way out of in India. I’m not saying that that is always a good thing, and often things are easier and better when better organized, but it’s been hard to get used to!

I am spending the rest of this week in Scotland, then flying to Spain and spending time in Madrid and in Caceres where I have friends studying. Then I am going to Portugal for a few days by myself before flying to Copenhagen to see Kelsey! Then I will either fly or take the train down to France to stay with Katie.

It’s really hard to believe that all of this is really happening! I feel so lucky that I am able to do this – not only did I have my own amazing study abroad experience but I am getting a snippet of a bunch of others as well!

End of the Program and Mommy + Daddy!

I can’t believe that my program is actually over! Study abroad has been a rather constant idea in my life for some time and now I’m having trouble believing that it’s over. I am looking forward to seeing how many of my “after study abroad life will be...” predictions are true though.

The end of our program was really great. The week before it ended we had our final performance in which we performed for the teachers, a bunch of the students, and our friends. We did a Kathak dance routine to show the skills we have learned in our traditional dance class, we did a skit in Hindi about life at Nirman, and we each presented our own research projects. Although we were dreading the performance it ended up being a lot of fun and everyone was complimenting us for the rest of our time at Nirman!

The day that my program ended, my parents and parts of two of the other girls’ families arrived in Banaras! We went to the airport to pick them up and then back to the hotel where we had booked rooms for all of them. It was so crazy to have them here. I loved showing them around the place that I have lived for the past 5 months but I couldn’t have predicted how exhausted and overwhelmed they would be! We did all of the important things in Banaras – we walked through the streets a LOT, visited Nirman and several of my friends’ homes, we went to Banaras Hindu University, we walked the ghats, we shopped, and we went on a boat ride on the Ganges to see the evening prayer at the main ghat.

After spending some time in Banaras we took an overnight train to Khajuraho. We were so lucky to get on my train. Both of the other girls who were supposed to catch trains out of Banaras that week had their trains cancelled and had to make other, last minute arrangements. While we were thrilled to actually be able to get on the train, leaving Banaras was not easy. I didn’t realize how much it had grown to mean to me until I was getting ready to leave! Banaras really became my home over the past 5 months and I am going to miss it and always remember my life there.

We loved Khajuraho! The temples lived up to their reputation of some of the most beautiful in India and we also really enjoyed the town. It’s a much smaller city than Banaras and was somewhat quieter as well.

After two days in Khajuraho we took another overnight train to Agra. We were lucky that that train was only a short time late also but we arrived in Agra about 8 hours later than we were supposed to. It wasn’t all bad since we were supposed to get there at 2:30 in the morning which would have been unpleasant, but it also infringed on our day. But we got to see the Taj which is all we really cared about!
Finally, after a day in Agra we leave for Delhi, our final destination. That train ride, which should have been the easiest ended up being the most difficult as our train came in about 4 hours late at 12:30 in the morning. But that also gave us a chance to sleep so it wasn’t all bad!

We stayed in a great hotel in Delhi which we really needed after all that travel. We went to see the Red Fort, the Gandhi memorial, some of the different neighborhoods, and did lots of shopping! A lot was closed because of protests going on about a woman who was recently gang raped in Delhi. It was a little scary to be close to the protests but at the same time I am so excited to see this kind of action going on in India. I can't wait to see how it progresses! 

Now I am sitting in the airport, waiting to board a plane to London! I am having so many mixed feelings about leaving India. It is both one of the hardest and most relieving things that I have ever done. I am both very sad and very excited to be moving on to something new. I’m glad that I have this European adventure to look forward to now! I have a feeling that the transition home will be the hardest.