Changes

Well it's been quite a while since I last wrote. Lots has happened and I'll do my best to summarize it all.

North India: I had my trip to North India! It was just over 2 weeks and an amazing experience. I'll write soon about it - promise!!

A quick preview of the trip - me on a camel!

Holi: I got back from the trip just in time for the festival of Holi! This was one of the few holidays (also Diwali) that I knew about before I came to India. It celebrates the start of spring and it's a day of forgiveness. This is celebrated by throwing powder and color on each other. I went to the house of an Indian friend with some of the other exchange students and her friends and we all played with the colors together!

Here's me after playing. My clothes are permanently purple now 

Family!!: My dad and younger sister Catherine came over to visit me for 10 days! I can't decide if I really have enough material to write about with them. We didn't see much and most of the excitement is sentimentality for myself. They landed in Mumbai late at night (I took the bus there by myself and was very proud!) and after touring the city a little the next day we took an overnight train to Delhi. There we also had a half day and we managed to see quite a bit! We visited a gorgeous temple called Akshardam, the India Gate, drove past Parliament and saw the old city. 

Here's me and my sister in the Mumbai airport

Delhi is actually a very interesting city. I didn't realize it when I visited in early March but it's made up of two distinct parts. There's "old Delhi" and "new Delhi". New Delhi is the are by India Gate and Parliament. It's what the British built during their time there and finished just before they left. It's probably the most "western" part of India I've seen so far. The streets are wide, there's gardens and beautiful houses. Especially the area between the India Gate and Parliament. It reminded me a lot of the national mall in Washington DC. Compared to this old Delhi is about as different as can be. It has tiny streets, tons of people and is full of shopping markets. We took a bike rickshaw to see it and our driver took us through the spice market and down streets dedicated to sarees, wedding supplies and silver respectively. This also took us to Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in all of India, so we stopped in quickly. 

That afternoon we took a train to Agra. The next morning we were up bright and early to see the Taj Mahal. Although it was my second time it was still very beautiful and impressive. After this we stopped by Agra Fort for a little while but since we were so tired from the nonstop travel and sightseeing we went back to the hotel and rested. That afternoon we had another train ride from Agra to Delhi and then the next morning we flew home to Pune! 

In Pune they got to spend a lot of time with my host familys, explore the city a little and meet my friends. At first it was pretty crazy having them in India, but I got comfortable with it quickly and really enjoyed having them visit! Honestly I was much sadder when they left than when I left back in July! This brings me to the next thing...

Going home: Audrey and I will officially be flying home on the 5th of June. Just today I realized that we now have less than 2 months left! I'm doing my best to ignore it and immerse myself in India because it's just such a depressing thought. When I think of going home part of me is excited. I've missed my family and food and all of the comfort that I find in my home in Minnesota. But then I think of not having my host families, or the excitement and constant movement and life in India and the colors and food and especially my incredible friends....and I don't ever want to leave. So while I know the day is quickly approaching and I have to accept it, I'm more than a little in shock.

Changing families: Just today I changed to my third family - the Hirves. I've been really looking forward to staying with them and unfortunately I'll only be here for a few weeks before I leave for my Himalayan trek. After that I go back to my first family, the Tilaks. I think my host family experience has definitely been different than most exchange students because my three families are good friends. Because of this I've gotten to know my families throughout this year. It's helped prepare and excite me for the families but at the same time it hasn't been quite as challenging to adjust. Either way, I've loved my host families and they've made my year incredible. 

This is most of what's new. I'll write about my north India trip (literally, I'll start as soon as I finish this one!) and then I want to write more aobut what exactly my life in India is like. There's a lot I haven't explained so I'll try and do that in the upcoming weeks.

Elisabeth