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Expectations before going to India

Expectations before going to India

I would describe my emotions as a little nervous and more excited. I am nervous because this is my first international trip by myself, and I am excited to see my extended family in India. Originally from India, I moved at a very young age and haven’t seen India through the perception I have right now. Despite being a native, India still presents unique challenges. Navigating through these unprecedented challenges would perhaps prepare me for my future endeavors. Additionally, I…

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Whoopsies, Got Dengue, Came Home!

Whoopsies, Got Dengue, Came Home!

For any SiSA student traveling to India next summer, I strongly recommend bringing as much bug spray as possible and using it continuously. This certainly won’t prevent bug bites but will of course reduce the risk of mosquito and bug borne illnesses. I say this due to my own brush with a mosquito – borne illness, dengue fever. I am certainly not eager to discuss my experience in detail but I will say that I ended up in the hospital…

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Finding my Way Home

Finding my Way Home

As I start my first week back at Michigan I reflect on all the things I did in India. My time was so crazy and rushed. An initial set of weeks simply adjusting to a reality so far from my own, one where I resembled no one near me, just as I was also an anomaly to the people of the streets on the outskirts of Jaipur. Walking to buy an ice cream or fruit at the stands down the…

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Home safe

Home safe

As I am writing this I have been back in the US for over a week. I have therefore had a lot of time to reflect on my time in India. It changed me and only positively. I now have access to everything that I took for granted before I left and now I no longer take any of it for granted. Safety and peace are the two largest things. Safer in almost every way, probably the only exception is…

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Change of plans

Change of plans

For those that “return” to Pondicherry, having the French nationality seems to only be a tool, to have access to the Metropole’s resources. Or at least, a way to secure possible opportunities while still engaging in the culture they come from.However, when they do that, given that they aren’t allowed Indian nationality, have no rights a citizens in India. In other modern countries like Italy and Ghana, descendants of their nationals are able to get citizenship. India has something similar,…

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How useful is French here? Like, really?

How useful is French here? Like, really?

Note: This blog post was intended to be submitted July 27th. As we head through the end of July, I am realizing several things about the reality of Pondicherry. I hoped to find a cool mix of the French language and Tamil or something, like the French and West African mix of Haitian Creole. A Pondicherrian creole? I knew that La Réunion, a French department just East of Africa, has a kind of Creole that has Tamil influence, and Mauritius in…

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The Prevalence of Pan Masala and Chai

The Prevalence of Pan Masala and Chai

Although India has a myriad of regional languages and distinct cultures, one thing that all Indians share is their love for chai and pan-masala. Chai, as many people might know, is the milk tea that Indians cherish; pan-masala is less familiar to non-Indians, but I would contend that it is just as ubiquitous and prevalent as the good-ol’ milk tea. India has not always been a tea drinker. Unlike many dishes in India that have been passed on for hundreds…

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Last week in India

Last week in India

*This post was written during my last week in India, which was several weeks ago, and I never got the chance to post it. So I’m posting it now. Wrapping up my final week in India I’m very conflicted. I don’t want to leave because this feels like the most important work I’ve ever done in my life. I had to say good bye to the kids today and I cried harder than I have in years. It reminded me…

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No more Cows on the streets of India?

No more Cows on the streets of India?

The last time I was in India six years ago, the streets of India were bustling with cows. You would see them everywhere: from the bazaars to the residential neighborhoods and even freeways. However, one remarkable change was I didn’t see any stray or grazing cows in the cities of Gujarat. So, where did all the cows go? It turns out that stray cows would gather around in large groups on the streets, obstructing all the traffic. The narrow streets…

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Whispers of a Sri Lankan Summer: Wind, Waves, and Wanderings

Whispers of a Sri Lankan Summer: Wind, Waves, and Wanderings

Several times I’ve picked up my pen, yet I find myself at a loss for words. Reflecting on my time in a South Asian island nation during the summer right after returning from an internship seems beyond my current expressive capacity. I know that to truly contemplate or succinctly summarize this experience, one needs to extend the timeline—perhaps it will only be a few years later, looking back at this summer in Sri Lanka, that I will discover its true…

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A Typical Day at the Office

A Typical Day at the Office

I figured it would be prudent and productive to describe what a typical day for me is like here working at Selco Foundation in Southern Bangalore. My day typically starts at 7:45 in the morning where I take a quick, very cold and refreshing shower. Sometimes the maid for the AirBnB comes, however, I often try to clean up as much as possible before the maid arrives. I often try to practice my Kannada (the local language, mainly spoken in…

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