I’m writing from the Imperial Hotel in Delhi again. I don’t know if they still have wireless, so this might not get posted for a while, but I guess this will be the last post I write in India, or at least India part one. Actually, here’s something I wrote about a week ago, and forgot to post:
I’m just now realizing how close this program is to being over. There are eight days left before a bunch of us get on a bus to Delhi, and ten days left before I fly out of India. I guess it especially doesn’t feel like it’s ending soon though, because unhappily I’ll still have my final paper to write, and because happily, I still have all sorts of traveling ahead of me, which I’m really excited about. Hopefully, after I get back to India, I’ll come back here for a week or two, but I can only do that if I get my visa extended or something like that, otherwise, I’ll just cut the India part of the summer short, and only stay until my visa runs out (June 18th, and I get back to India on the 12th), and spend more time in Katmandu. I’m really excited to go to Katmandu, especially because when I get there, Marissa will already be there, and I think that Steve and Karen (our professor and his wife) and Dan and Amber (the program TAs) will all be there too. I don’t know that I’ll hang out with them that much, since I feel like they must be sick of us already, but it will be nice to at least know people there, and I’ll at least get to hang out with Marissa, since we’ll have to be sorting out all the details of going to Tibet (!!!). She got a grant from her school too, so we’re going to travel to Tibet together. I’m really glad that we ended up being roommates, since we’re going to be traveling together, and both of our projects involve researching Tibetan medicine (totally different aspects of it though), and she’s just awesome in general. Also, in the end of July, we’re both flying back on the same flight, which will be nice. (P.S. I’ll be getting into New York on July 28 and most likely flying out of Philly a few days later, so if you’re going to be around those two cities, can I hang out with you?).
It’s really nice here right now. The weather is good for the most part (sometimes it rains for three or four hours at a time, but usually it’s sunny). My research is really interesting. I’m worried, because I don’t think I have much yet that will help me write my final paper, but everything I’ve been observing has been really interesting, and I have a few interviews set up for next week that will hopefully be helpful. For most of research period until now, I had been observing in the Tibetan hospital in the morning and observing in Delek hospital a few times a week in the afternoon. I’ve also been going to a Tibetan tutor, who must be one of the most infinitely patient people to be able to put up with my total lack of ability to learn new languages and talking first to a girl named Dekyi and now to a monk named Tenzin so that they can practice their English. Someone told me about a place called volunteer Tibet, so I wandered in there, told them that I don’t have really any useful skills at all, so they told me to be someone’s English conversation partner.
But anyway, I guess that’s a little out of date, because we caught the bus to Delhi yesterday. Triund was really nice also. I thought maybe I’d die trying to hike up there, but it was actually a really nice hike, and it was nice to see everyone again, or at least almost everyone. We hiked up on May 23, and after dinner, they even had a cake for my birthday. I realized that it was the first birthday I’ve spent away from home, but it was really nice, and it was nice to spend it with a group of people I love so much. The next day we hiked up to the snow line and played in the snow a little. In the evening, Steve gave us our last lecture of the program (it was about reverse culture shock, it wasn’t actually a class lecture or anything), and after dinner, we had a campfire and had our last ECI (emotional check-in). It was actually really emotional, because it was the last time we were all together as a group (I admit, I cried a lot). The next morning, I hiked down at five in the morning with Diana, Emily, and Tom. I spent the rest of the day packing and running errands. Julia, Lucy, and Diana all left that day too. In the evening, IBD had a goodbye party for us. It was nice to see a lot of people again. Our teachers were there and the cooks and a lot of people’s roommates too.
The next morning (my last morning in Dharamsala), we got up early to see the Nechung Oracle. It was pretty cool, except that I couldn’t really see, but it was still an interesting experience. The rest of the day went to packing and running errands. We had one last dinner together at Malabar. Marissa, Dan, Amber, Steve, and Karen all came to see us off. I actually didn’t cry when the bus left, because I think I’ll probably go back, and I’ll see Marissa, Dan, Amber, and Karen again. I realized that Steve will have already left Nepal by the time I get there, so it was really sad saying goodbye to him. He really took on quite a challenge by leading the trip, but I think he did an amazing job, and I think I’ll always be grateful to him for the experience.
The bus was an overnight bus, but this time it was a deluxe bus, so it was so much better than the buses I traveled on during spring break, and I slept almost the whole way down to Delhi. Justin, Tom, Kendell, and I checked into a hotel in Majnu-ka-tilla (I think I spelled that wrong, but it’s the Tibetan settlement in Delhi) and then came to the Imperial, where we met up with everyone else (their flight is leaving earlier, so they don’t need to spend the night anywhere). Now everyone is eating breakfast in the restaurant, and it’s incredibly luxurious (I’m actually not eating, because I know I’ll have to spend so much money in Europe, so I’m holding off on luxurious food for now). So this is the end of the program here I guess. I don’t know what we’ll all do for the rest of the day (maybe hang out in the Imperial for as long as we can), and tomorrow morning I’ll head to the airport for my flight out. I can’t believe that this is it though. I mean, I know I’m coming back, but India won’t be nearly the same without all these people. I really am so lucky to have been able to be part of such an amazing group of people.
