The Past 5 Days

  If I had to describe the past 5 days of my life in one word I would use the word extreme! There have been times of extreme busyness and extreme rest. We left D.C. on Tuesday and arrived in Coimbatore about 11:00 AM on Thursday. Actual travel time was about 28ish hours I think. It was weird to be traveling across different time zones. I would sleep some on the plane and some in the airport during our layovers. So this was the period of extreme rest. It was really fun to travel with the group because by the time we actually got to India we felt like we had been together for weeks!

This brings me to the extreme busyness side of the past 5 days! We have been in Coimbatore for 3 days. I have to tell myself it has only been 3 days because it feels like forever. We have been busy literally every moment. I think the best way to convey everything we have done is go through it day by day. I won’t do this every time, but there is so much I want to share!

On Thursday we were surprised at the airport by some students from the college! They had a welcoming banner and gave us all flowers! Then we took a bus to our apartments, where we had less than an hour to relax/unpack. Then we went to an orientation/welcoming service at the school, which is about a 15-minute walk from our apartment. The location of our apartment and the school is great because there is this road in Coimbatore that is a circle called “Race Course Road.” It is 2.5 kilometers around so a lot of locals use it for exercise. Both our apartments and the school are located along this road, so it’s easy to navigate between the two! Thursday night we had dinner at this Indian restaurant where we had dolsa. As you can see by this picture, they are 6 feet long! There we 15 of us at dinner and we conquered two of them! You break off pieces and dip them into different sauces. At dinner I also had a sweet lime soda, which is a common Indian drink that I really liked!

After a hard night’s sleep that night, we had more orientation stuff Friday morning, and again that afternoon. There is a lot of stuff to go over and learn here, not only culturally but making sure we understand the academics of the school. That night we had dinner one of the staff member’s apartment that lives down the hall.

Yesterday was a super fun and filled with adventure! We started off by taking a bus to another area of Coimbatore where we went shopping for more traditional Indian clothing. It was really fun to see all the different types of clothes they have and all the beautiful colors. We had lunch at an Indian place near the shops. I’ve included a picture to give you all an idea of what meals are like here! A lot of places are vegetarian, so it’s rice with different types of sauces. They use these big banana leaves as plates, and you eat with your hands. Yes, you scoop rice into your hand and into your mouth. It will definitely take some getting used to! I am extremely scared to try the different sauces, as I tend to be a picky eater and am not used to spicy foods. I haven’t starved to death yet, so I think I will be okay!

After shopping and lunch we all participated in The Amazing Race: Coimbatore! We were split up into teams and were given a list of things to do/see/take pictures of around the city. This was fun, as it was the first time we were really navigating the city by ourselves! We had to walk a lot, and ask for directions a lot! After the scavenger hunt we met one of the staff members at this restaurant called On The Go. It has a wide variety of food, including non-Indian food! I was really happy to see they had pasta, but once I got the meal I realized pasta in India still meant spicy. It was disappointing, but I had some French fries too so that was great!

This morning we went to a church along Race Course Road. The service was in English, but was still hard to follow with the dialect and everything. The highlight of my morning was a woman coming up to me with her shy daughter (probably about 4 years old) coming up to me and telling me her daughter loved my golden hair. So sweet! We definitely get A LOT of stares here. They aren't used to seeing this many white people all together! After church we all went shopping for food/random items we needed in our apartments. Among the items I got were fruit, peanut butter, and Oreos! They have a lot of American brands here, or similar things. For example I got “Honey Rolls” which are basically Cheerios. It will be nice to have a few things around that aren’t spicy, Indian food!

We start school tomorrow! So I will have to let you all know how that goes! This isn’t a tourist visit disguised as a semester abroad, that’s for sure!

I think we will have Internet in our apartments soon, but for now we have Internet cafes/coffee shops with wifi! This is the first time I have been on the internet since we arrived, but I’ve hardly had time to notice. They gave us cell phones to use here, and we can call/text America from them! I’m hoping to mostly use skype for talking to people since it’s free, but I was able to talk to my mom on the phone the other night for like 5 minutes! The first question I asked her was how the Thunder was doing! I was glad to hear they have been on a nice winning streak! Remember when I met Russell Westbrook? Whats that? You want to see the picture? Okay :)

Overall I’m doing well, I can’t even begin to describe the adjustment process. I’m just taking things one day at a time! Thankfully we have great staff who are helping us a long the way! The weather is nice, it gets hot in the afternoon. The highs are in the 80s-90s. I wouldn’t mind 70s, but I’m not going to complain! Hope everyone is enjoying your cold winters :)

Thanks for reading, hope I’m not boring you guys! I will update again soon! Hopefully with some pictures of myself in my new Indian clothing! But just picture bright beautiful clothes! And a girl with a million mosquito bites wearing them (I thought there were a lot of mosquitos in the Oklahoma summers, but they have nothing on India)!

-Ashleigh