Tomorrow I take off for an adventure of a lifetime. I will be interning with an organization called Educate Girls for three months in Sirohi, Rajasthan, India. I’m told that I will be shadowing the director for the first couple weeks and then moving on from there. Starting with behind the scenes and then looking at the front side of the organization will give me a better idea how NGO’s function and are stabilized. I don’t truly know what’s in store and it will probably all change once I get there so I will have an open mind and am excited to simply just be there. My travel time is about 32 hours arriving in Udaipur at 6am then a 3 hour car ride to my guest house and start work and 9am the next morning. I am staying up all night tonight in hopes to sleep the entire time on the plane so the time goes by faster. The past 3 months have been spent in great anticipation for this moment and in the morning I head out. I am told I’ll have WIFI and all my meals prepared for me. This does not sound like the stereotypical India everyone thinks about. Preconceived notions can’t be helped so I’m excited to see how these compare and to break down others. I know only very basic phrases in Hindi so this will be a fun adventure to communicate in everyday life. I studied abroad in Germany last year but I was there solely for the purpose of increasing my German language skills. Although this isn’t my first time abroad or traveling on my own, there are naturally butterflies in my stomach and I can’t wait to just get there already. Enough for now and next time I write will be from wonderful India!
Sirohi is in southern Rajasthan closer to the border of Gujarat. Rajasthan is also one of the most touristy areas of India. Famous for the great desert in Jaisalmer where you can ride camels, the lake palaces of Udaipur or the mountain range containing Mt. Abu.
My Bucket List for India:
~Ride a Camel
~Ride an Elephant
~Be involved in a festival
~Attend a wedding
~Learn enough Hindi to engage in small talk
~Master the art of not using utensils
~Learn 5 Bollywood dances
~See the Taj Mahal
~Have a successful internship
~Simply Enjoy Life!
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Saint Augustine
Onto the next chapter. ~Anna