Four exciting things happened this week (in order from most exciting to least exciting).
Jordan and Dani were a year above me at ISA and were the people who introduced me to the NSLI-Y program. Honestly I would not be in India on this program without them. Dani did the summer program 4 years ago and Jordan did the summer program 2 years ago and was actually living in Indore attending another local school. They picked me up so we could explore C21 (the best mall in Indore) and eat KFC. It was really nice seeing Americans, especially familiar faces from home who were able to connect really well with some of the frustration of living in India and having little to no freedom. After giving them a short tour of the wonderful Daly College girls dorm they boarded a flight to Mumbai to continue their 2 week tour of India!
- My two friends from high school, Jordan and Dani, came to visit me!
- Netflix is now available to stream (without a VPN) in India.
- I got sick, lost my voice, and coughed so hard all week my whole body is sore.
- Daly College hosted a week long Round Square conference for students from all over the world ages 11-13.
Jordan and Dani were a year above me at ISA and were the people who introduced me to the NSLI-Y program. Honestly I would not be in India on this program without them. Dani did the summer program 4 years ago and Jordan did the summer program 2 years ago and was actually living in Indore attending another local school. They picked me up so we could explore C21 (the best mall in Indore) and eat KFC. It was really nice seeing Americans, especially familiar faces from home who were able to connect really well with some of the frustration of living in India and having little to no freedom. After giving them a short tour of the wonderful Daly College girls dorm they boarded a flight to Mumbai to continue their 2 week tour of India!
Let me just say that I am about to go crazy on Netflix and maybe disappear for the next week while I re-watch House of Cards in preparation of the newest season being released in May. It's really the little things that make me happy, at least while I'm on this program. I never thought I would miss fast internet and Netflix as much as I have but at least I now have Netflix to make the next 4 months go by quickly! I know 4 more months left in India! I'm on the downhill slide! It's pretty hard to believe I've been here for 6 months but then again it definitely feels like I've been here for forever and I am so ready to come home and eat my weight in enchiladas.
When I got back from my trip in Rajasthan I was feeling a little down but I attributed it to lack of sleep and several hours on trains and busses. I guess since I haven't been sick in a while my body decided this was a good time to give me my annual sickness. I spent several hours sleeping in the library on a row of chairs which amused everyone and I'm told I was quite a spectacle to all the Indians who came in to watch me sleep. I developed a really wonderful cough that took my normal voice away and replaced it with a weird grandma whisper/Amy Winehouse voice. I'm glad my annual plague of illness struck when it did thought because I would hate being sick and having to attend Hindi classes.
Round Square is an international cultural exchange organization, similar to AFS. In my personal opinion RS isn't the best program ever but that's just what I think. There were about 300 students from Canada, the US, the UAE, Bangladesh, the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, and of course India. My role in this conference was to ensure order in the girls hostel where Lauren and I were in charge of 100 girls. We were also supposed to volunteer wherever we were needed throughout the conference. I had to miss a few events throughout the week due to my weird coughing cold but otherwise I just avoided these events at all costs. The workshops throughout the day were a bit tedious and only fun for students within the age group of 11-13. Needless to say I did not have the time of my life running around Daly College for 3 hours solving riddles and slingshotting balls into buckets. The good thing about this conference was that with an influx of non native Hindi speakers on campus and everyone speaking English my Hindi improved! Because most of the staff in the boarding house only speaks Hindi I was the translator for the girls who constantly demanded bottled water and coffee.
When I got back from my trip in Rajasthan I was feeling a little down but I attributed it to lack of sleep and several hours on trains and busses. I guess since I haven't been sick in a while my body decided this was a good time to give me my annual sickness. I spent several hours sleeping in the library on a row of chairs which amused everyone and I'm told I was quite a spectacle to all the Indians who came in to watch me sleep. I developed a really wonderful cough that took my normal voice away and replaced it with a weird grandma whisper/Amy Winehouse voice. I'm glad my annual plague of illness struck when it did thought because I would hate being sick and having to attend Hindi classes.
Round Square is an international cultural exchange organization, similar to AFS. In my personal opinion RS isn't the best program ever but that's just what I think. There were about 300 students from Canada, the US, the UAE, Bangladesh, the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, and of course India. My role in this conference was to ensure order in the girls hostel where Lauren and I were in charge of 100 girls. We were also supposed to volunteer wherever we were needed throughout the conference. I had to miss a few events throughout the week due to my weird coughing cold but otherwise I just avoided these events at all costs. The workshops throughout the day were a bit tedious and only fun for students within the age group of 11-13. Needless to say I did not have the time of my life running around Daly College for 3 hours solving riddles and slingshotting balls into buckets. The good thing about this conference was that with an influx of non native Hindi speakers on campus and everyone speaking English my Hindi improved! Because most of the staff in the boarding house only speaks Hindi I was the translator for the girls who constantly demanded bottled water and coffee.