After a memorable 20th birthday and a great weekend visiting camp, I came home in desperate need for a shower and sleep. But once I was recovered, it was time to turn to final preparations....
Step one involved pulling out everything I could potentially want or need in the next five months and spreading it across my floor. Looking at the CIEE packing list, my mom and I pulled clothes out of my drawers, gathers items from around the house, and made a shopping list for CVS. Needless to say, my room was somewhat of a disaster-zone this week. Here's the visual.
Step two-- fitting all this junk into the wheeled duffle that I used for MBI, my 5-week Israel trip in 2007. It was a lofty (and unrealistic) goal that ended with one very overweight bag. Many experienced travelers, including CIEE Hyderabad alumni, recommended that I pack lightly, and I really took this advice to heart. I am only bringing around eight t-shirts, two skirts, two capris, and a few pairs of shoes. However, my bag quickly filled with linens, medicine, toiletries, and other random travel 'essentials' (battery-powered fan, pocket tissues, gifts for my host family, electronics/chargers, journals, etc.) Eventually, I faced the facts and succumbed to adding a second duffle. In the end, I think that I will be glad to have two bags with a little extra space. On the way home, Indian gifts for all you friends and family will take up the space of the medicine and toiletries that I won't be bringing home! Good thing I can check two bags, so I won't have to drag all of this across the Mumbai airport between flights.
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| Just some money with Gandhi's face on it! |
Besides packing, the week involved many other fun preparatory tasks, like making a lost-passport-kit, calling my bank, and picking up some last items. My dad did me the favor of exchanging a few dollars to rupees! Of course, birthday thank you notes are just about the last thing left on the list.. I will most likely still be working on those in the car ride up to New Jersey tomorrow. But do not fear, family and friends, they are on the way!
Tonight, I met some high school friends for final goodbyes at the Silver Diner-- a classic Moco spot with classic American eats. I'm not much of a meat-eater, but I ordered a hamburger tonight, because I won't have that option in the upcoming months!
So, as I said, I am very ready to go. At this point I have prepared for all that I can control, and the rest is out of my hands. There is nothing left to buy, no more medicine to take or culture books to read. There is no use trying to prepare for every circumstance in which I will find myself or every challenge that I will face. I just have to remember that I have overcome tough times in the past to become the adaptive, competent, and resilient individual that I am today. This experience may be absolutely euphoric, or it may be barely tolerable, but either way, it is only one semester. As long as I am healthy and safe, I will come home to loving communities as a smarter anthropologist and more spirited individual.
As my wise mother has reminded me, there is a possibility that (after all this packing) all my bags will be lost on the way. But, even if I arrive in Hyderabad with just myself and my passport, I will be okay. Basically, much of this experience is out of my control, so I am trying to expect the unexpected. With this mentality, I feel little nerves, more of a content excitement. In so many ways, my leaving tomorrow just feels so right. Going to India is what I want, need, and should be doing.
I cannot help but compare this departure to leaving for Israel in July four year ago (though it really feels like it has been decades). I recently re-read the meticulous journal that I kept throughout my MBI trip, beginning with a pre-departure entry. The entire thing is ridden with trepidation-- from anxiety about who I will sit with on the plane and which friends will be assigned to my bus, to anticipating the horrifying possibility of homesickness from thousands of miles away. I write about all the obnoxious detailed questions I asked my older brother and a tearful phone call to a dear friend.
The contrast between my distressed state the night before MBI to my current excited anticipation could not be more stark. Yet, on this trip, I am traveling further, for longer, with far less of a support network, and far more unknown futures. Clearly, I have grown and changed a lot in the last four years. And unlike MBI, this time I am looking for an adventure!
Alright, time to get ready for bed. If I am going to frequently post on this blog, I better get faster at pumping out these postings!! Next time, I'll write from India. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
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