You read that correctly... today marks exactly one month left in India! For a long time now, I have found myself counting the days until my return to the US. Its not at all that I haven't been enjoying my time here. Its just as though a part of me is holding my breath until I make it home safe, sound, and still capable of digesting food. Staying in such close contact with my friends and family has been surprisingly easy and enriching this semester, but lately, there has been a lot of talk of my return. I am so so excited for my first Shabbat at home, back with the fam. I am looking forward to my Mom's birthday, seeing my WJ friends, New Years with camp friends, a family trip to NJ for my cousin's bar mitzvah, and then a road trip down to Atlanta. So much love and good food to come home to! But in focusing on that, am I wishing away this experience of a lifetime?
On Monday night, my program had its "Farewell Dinner," which involved a slide show presentation on re-entry into your home country and preparations for reverse culture shock. It was interesting to talk about, though it did seem a little premature. Obviously, I have certain concerns about the adjustment back, but I am glad to have so much down time to recuperate before Spring semester picks up at Emory in mid January.
The talk about departing continued last night at the SIP Cultural Evening. International students (more talented than myself) preformed Indian song and dance in the University's big auditorium. The idea was to "present what we have learned this semester" and the speeches and thank-you's at the end were so conclusive, I wanted to stand up and remind everyone-- WAIT! THERES STILL ONE MONTH LEFT!
And then it hit me! One month left! This is it! That part of me thats still waiting to breathe until I am back in the US... its starting to turn blue in the face. October ended as soon as it began, and I suddenly find myself with a change of heart. Its not one whole month until I go home, its 30 speedy days, 4 short weeks! How can that be possible? I'm ready to be home, but I'm not ready to leave India! I don't want to get on that plane with any regrets of places I didn't go, foods I didn't try, things I didn't buy, experiences I didn't have.
To start, Suzanne, Kyla and I had a fully Hyderabadi day on Saturday. We went to Charminar, Hyderabad's most famous monument in the middle of the bustling old Muslim city. We had been once during orientation in July, but we were with the whole program and only had enough time to snap a pic and get on to the next big attraction. So, this time we gave ourselves the whole afternoon. We used our classic mix of English and broken Hindi to convince the man in the ticket booth that we live in Hyderabad and should not be charged 100 rupees entry fee for foreigners, but rather the 5 rupee local fee. Success! Feels equally empowering every time that works. Then, we went up the spiraling staircase inside one of the four tours of Charminar. When we got to the top, the city was sprawled out in all directions around us. We snapped pictures and took it all in before the shakier journey back down the steep steps.
Onto the next classic Hyderabadi activity-- bangle shopping in Lad Bazaar outside of Charminar. I'm still traumatized from the pain of wearing bangles for Diwali, so I mostly just looked around.. and boy was there a lot to see! Glitzy stores with rows upon rows upon rows of bracelets in every color, covered in glitter, reflecting the lights hanging all around. After many failed attempts, we finally found a shop keeper who understood our more simple ascetic, and we bought a few nice silver bangles. I have been wearing two silver bangles every day already, so I added a third while Kyla and Suzanne each got a little set-- all the same bracelet. FRIENDSHIP BANGLES!
Then, we were off to our classic Hyderabadi dinner, Biryani. Hyderabad (especially the old city) is famous for this rice and meat dish, but I still had yet to really get all the hype. So we headed to Hotel Shadab, which received rave reviews in Lonely Planet and happens to be our program directors favorite restaurant in the whole city. I can finally say, I have joined the Biryani craze-- the rice was long and flavorful, covered in a savory gravy and mixed with perfectly cooked and seasoned meat. We took the hour-long train commute back to our side of town and gave each other nice pats on the back for a day full of bucket-list-cross-outs.
I hope to keep making the most of my present life in this present place for the next thirty days. I know that all those great American comforts will be mine soon enough, and when they are, I'll miss sweating in my kurta while I shovel down the rice.
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| Best family pic yet, from the Farewell Dinner (Sari Day Round Two) |
On Monday night, my program had its "Farewell Dinner," which involved a slide show presentation on re-entry into your home country and preparations for reverse culture shock. It was interesting to talk about, though it did seem a little premature. Obviously, I have certain concerns about the adjustment back, but I am glad to have so much down time to recuperate before Spring semester picks up at Emory in mid January.
The talk about departing continued last night at the SIP Cultural Evening. International students (more talented than myself) preformed Indian song and dance in the University's big auditorium. The idea was to "present what we have learned this semester" and the speeches and thank-you's at the end were so conclusive, I wanted to stand up and remind everyone-- WAIT! THERES STILL ONE MONTH LEFT!
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| Beautiful Charminar |
This week, I have been reevaluating my "India Bucket List" (I know, another list, I can't help it). These items are no longer fictitious things I hope to do one day-- they're events I need to fit into my agenda! In the next three weekends!!
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| A view of Hyderabad from the top of Charminar |
Onto the next classic Hyderabadi activity-- bangle shopping in Lad Bazaar outside of Charminar. I'm still traumatized from the pain of wearing bangles for Diwali, so I mostly just looked around.. and boy was there a lot to see! Glitzy stores with rows upon rows upon rows of bracelets in every color, covered in glitter, reflecting the lights hanging all around. After many failed attempts, we finally found a shop keeper who understood our more simple ascetic, and we bought a few nice silver bangles. I have been wearing two silver bangles every day already, so I added a third while Kyla and Suzanne each got a little set-- all the same bracelet. FRIENDSHIP BANGLES!
Then, we were off to our classic Hyderabadi dinner, Biryani. Hyderabad (especially the old city) is famous for this rice and meat dish, but I still had yet to really get all the hype. So we headed to Hotel Shadab, which received rave reviews in Lonely Planet and happens to be our program directors favorite restaurant in the whole city. I can finally say, I have joined the Biryani craze-- the rice was long and flavorful, covered in a savory gravy and mixed with perfectly cooked and seasoned meat. We took the hour-long train commute back to our side of town and gave each other nice pats on the back for a day full of bucket-list-cross-outs. I hope to keep making the most of my present life in this present place for the next thirty days. I know that all those great American comforts will be mine soon enough, and when they are, I'll miss sweating in my kurta while I shovel down the rice.
Oh Leah, I can't WAIT for you to come home so I can hear even more about your whole experience. But to underscore your own sentiment...don't wish it away. You have one month more of this wonderful adventure. Slow down, take some deep breaths and take it all in!
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth, I hear you :) And cant wait to catch up when I am home!!
ReplyDelete