India Here I Come!

Hello, all my readers it’s been a few weeks since we last spoke. I hope everything is fine in your lives and things in mine are pretty okay. Anyway, I have exciting news! I recently found out that my application to study abroad in India next semester has been approved. The words to describe my reaction…silenced by my happiness.

I was pretty sure I was going to get approved, but you know how there’s always that little flicker of doubt? That little nagging person on your shoulder who is constantly berating you with negative comments. Yeah, I think we all know who I’m talking about. Well, I recently, placed this little person in a glass jar with no air holes and buried him in the mountains surrounding my school. He won’t be back for a while ( at least I hope). But now that he’s gone, my mind is allowed to dream and isn’t dreaming a wonderful thing? Maybe not so wonderful when you do it in class and you miss a whole lecture but besides that, it’s the perfect way to spend your leisure time.

When I think of India the first thing that comes to my mind is heat! I wonder how I am going to adjust to the scorching temperatures. Hopefully, during my stay it won’t be too hot. However, beyond the heat, I imagine this exotic land full of people and life. I imagine the hustle and bustle of the city, but great spaces of beautiful Mother Nature that have been left untouched. I see myself falling in love with this country and the thought sends tingles of excitement from my toes to the hairs on my head. I feel link India is such a unique country and I know I haven’t traveled there previously, but I have traveled to other countries before. I've  been to England, France and China. I love traveling and all of these places were amazing, but I don't think any of them touched me at my core. Now what do I mean when I say that?

When I say “touched me at my core”, what I mean is that I was not star struck by any of these places. I didn’t leave these countries in awe at how amazing they were. No, I left with a great appreciation for these countries and their cultures but they didn’t make me fall in love. I don’t know if that’s a corny way to describe it, but that’s all I got. England and France reminded me too much of America. Yes, yes, I know! Comparing France to America, please no one hit me with a croissant. What I’m trying to get at is that Europe like North America is a Western continent and so they all are “westernized” as many people say and therefore have just as much in common as they don’t have in common. I loved traveling to Europe! It was gorgeous and I had a great time, but I didn’t fell like I had gone anywhere that different. Which is why I decided to go to China (an Eastern country) and even though China gave me more of that feeling I was looking for, it still didn’t hit the target. So how did I stumble upon India?

Don’t judge me, but I first got interested in India after watching and reading “Eat Prat Love.” I know, I know so cliche, but that’s really not the reason I want to go to India. The movie and book only planted the seed, it still had to grow. I started reading the New York Times and I always found myself reading about news in India before I even checked out the domestic section. I became interested in journalism and saw that India was kind of like a reporting heaven. From there I let my imagination do the rest. I knew I wanted to some where exotic, some where that wasn’t your typical tourist spot like Europe or America. I wanted to go somewhere that would make me feel uncomfortable, but in a happy way. So I chose India and so far I’ve been pretty happy with my decision.

Part of me wonders if these high expectations I have for India will either fall short or break the roof. Perhaps, my expectations are too high. Maybe I should start preparing for disappointment…or maybe, just maybe my expectations aren’t high enough. Maybe my mind will be so blown that when I come back to the states it’ll look like a foreign land. I’ll see things in a whole new perspective. I guess I really ca’t be sure about this right now, but one thing I am sure of is this: you gotta make the best out of your experiences and I plan to make the best out of India. Until next time!