Day 9- Favorite song from another country or culture
Panjabi MC’s Beware of the Boys (Mundian Bach Ke), many know it from when Jay-Z sampled it.
This has been my ringtone for (I kid you not) the past two years. Also I bought a bunch more Panjabi MC songs recently…can’t ever get enough of these bhangra beats!
this houseboat looks a lot like the one I went on
#missinkerala
(Source: mayadevi, via barefoot-traveller)
The Art of Dosa.
The chef prepares us fresh Masala Dosa, on an outdoor hot-plate grill.
HOOK ME UP, BRO
Day 8- Favorite food from another country or culture?
and to you I say DOSAS DOSAS DOSAS DOSAS DOSAS DOSAS
(via sufigeek)
missin’ this. except TIGER COOKIES ALL THE WAY.
(via indian-food)
Combining Day 4 and 5: Picture of Myself and Favorite Touristy Moment
Camel riding and Elephant riding. No Brainer for that one!
By the way, Camels are fucking gigantic in real life.
Day 3- Adventure or Challenge you had while living abroad
Um, what adventures and challenges DON’T you have when you move to the other half of the planet?
Biggest Challenges:
- LANGUAGE BARRIER
- Where do they keep the REAL cheese?
- “Is this water sanitary? It looks questionable to me!”
- “You think I’m paying 150 rupees for THAT? Mai bewakoof nahi hu.”
-Having trouble getting off campus or around anywhere on my own
-Missing home
Biggest Adventures:
-Kerala
-Tamil Nadu
-Goa
-The North
-Going to the clubbbb
-Google Office
- Landing everywhere and knowing and feeling “I have no idea what I’m doing- Let’s fuckin’ do this!” That statement in and of itself encapsulates India.
kissing the taj mahal :)
My beautiful best friend in India! I took this very picture. The Taj has forever been kissed by pari aur rani
Day 1: Favorite Places
I’m terrible at making decisions, so these are my favorite places I’ve been in all my lifetime travels
Charminar, Hyderabad: The iconic image of Hyderabad. Old City was one the first and last places I went to in India. It was a true cultural experience, and a really fascinating place to spend time. Plus, I love the architecture of Charminar
Gopanpally, Hyderabad: This was right outside of campus, a five minute walk from my dorm. This restaurant, Meal and Curry Point, was run by this super nice guy named Ram. I would go there for some food and time to myself to watch the world go by. We all liked to hang out there. My favorite part of Hyderabad, honestly.
Google Office, Hitec City, Hyderabad: I ended up making some friends that work at Google (there’s kind of a fun story to that) and I got to visit the office. They were all so nice and cool, and I wish I had gotten to hang out with them more. But also, now when I hear the word ‘google’ I think of the wasted birthday party we went to with them, and seeing all of them so very drunk. Good times, Google.
Kerala Backwaters: Our first and possibly best trip. So many insanely good memories. A houseboat was one of my biggest bucket list items for India, and it was perfect.
Pushkar: Our first stop on the final adventure. It was so beautiful, and had such good vibes (and food!) This is outside the Brahma temple, the one of the only ones that exist. It was my favorite temple experience in India, and just a slice of Indian life that I especially love.
Rishikesh: Last stop on the final trip. The yoga capital of the world, on the Ganges river. Good vegetarian food, good yoga, and my first professional massage. It was the highlight of the trip, I’d say.
Taj Mahal: I was at the Taj with my bestie on Thanksgiving, full on tandoori chicken dinner. What more can I say?
Copenhagen: The first stop on my high school graduation trip. The city and it’s people were way more beautiful than I could have been prepared for. It’s city I definitely recommend seeing.
The Eiffel Tower at Night: Why so specific? Because on my fifteenth birthday, I was on the Eiffel Tower, at night. It was my second day in France, my first time to Europe, and I paid for most of the trip. I experienced a level of ultimate satisfaction that I don’t think many kids achieve at that age.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam is like this magical little place you couldn’t believe. It’s not the wild and crazy place it’s made out to be at all. It’s way more canals, quiet, calm, kind living. And you can enjoy your beer with your fresh rolled joint on a canal side table and feel pretty darn right with the world.
Uhhhhhhhhmmmmm….
…sums up how I feel entirely. I feel like I don’t know anything. Am I having culture shock? Can I feel the change? Is it good to be back? Does it suck to have left India?
My brain just feels like it’s all over the place when it comes to being back here.
Did India really happen? Was I really there for a life-changing five months? And even if I was there, how do I measure how life-changing it was? Is there some kind of quantifiable proof for these things? And how much am I allowed to talk about it before people can tell me to shut up? And how annoyed am I allowed to get when people aren’t interested in my stories? And how the hell do I answer the people who do ask about my experience? And when can I be physically surrounded by people who know exactly what it means to have been at Tagore International House for the monsoon semester of 2011?
Is this the culture shock everyone was telling me about?
Myself, at my coming home party in Asheville rocking the harem pants my Norwegian friend Amalie left for me as a romper. Hate to sound conceited, but I love this picture of me! A good blend of India and America I think.
Photo cred to my love, Julie Rose
Leaving
I am leaving. Getting in my cab soon. I’m all packed, my room is a mess, and I’m sure my bags are too heavy. I’m not ready for reverse culture shock. I’m not ready to leave India. I am so ready to be home. I am so ready to see the good things about America again.
I love you India. Thank you for all the lessons. I’ll miss you. A lot.
Everyone is leaving
And so am I. But everyone I love has been leaving, and I’m the last person to go. And the fewer people left, the harder the departures. I cried twice this morning saying goodbye and then realizing that my roommate and best friend are leaving within 11 hours of each other, a process which begins at 4 PM today. I know it’s just an Indian five minutes until we see each other again, but we all know what that means. I’ve already said ‘See you later’ to so many people, because the word ‘goodbye’ is too painful.
It’s these goodbyes that will make my next 24 hours painful. At least I’ll want to go home if no one else is here anymore.
“Shanti, Shanti”
I am currently in Rishikesh (look dat ish up). I’m hanging out at the foothills of the Himilayas, and the beginning of the Ganges river.
So here’s a fast update. I flew here with Meghan, my travel buddy for our final adventure and my best friend here. We flew into Delhi on the 19th. Ended up hooking up a tour package after realizing we had no idea what we were doing. We spent one night in Delhi, then we went Pushkar for two nights. From Pushkar to Jaipur for two nights, Jaipur to Agra for one night where we spent Thanksgiving at the Taj Mahal. From Agra we were supposed to catch a train to Haridwar, but we missed the train, so we went back to Delhi and spent the night at our Driver’s family’s house which was a really eye opening experience. We caught a bus to Rishikesh the next night, and we’ve been here one night and we spend one more before catching the train back to Delhi for one more night. Then we fly home.
The stories I could tell would take forever to write right now, but I will tell them another time, for sure. But for now, I am going to enjoy Rishikesh, do some yoga and eat some snacks and probably get a massage.
And remember, if you’re feeling stressed just say “Shanti, Shanti” and you will relax.
