Farewell for Now

Ohio is .... cold. As if I havn't said this enough times since being home (I arrived safe and sound in Amrikaa on Friday afternoon!!) my trip home was much less eventful than the trip to India, thank god, and now I writing this safe and sound, snuggled up on the couch. So much different than my homestay bed, that's for sure. My last week in India passed so much faster than I could have imagined. Doesn't it always happen like that?

Emily and I got to catch up with Khadeeja, Adil and Iman, for one last home cooked Indian meal -- filled with all my favorite dishes! -- and we saw just how fast a baby grows. In the one month away, Iman was starting to crawl, pull herself up, and had so many things to say. She also had a TON of hair! Emily and I also took it upon ourselves to feed her her first lemon.. if you guys don't know what happens, please search "Baby eats Lemon" on YouTube.. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Our group also presented ISPs, and it was such an impressive showing. After spending a month away from everyone it was so great to see what people were up to. I gotta say, I spent the semester around some pretty smart cookies, because I learned a hell of a lot during our 2 days of presentations. We wrapped up the week with the end of the semester banquet, and everyone got to wear their saris, and hang out for one last time. Bittersweet endings, as I'm sure you can all imagine, and a few hours after the banquet I boarded a flight to Frankfurt, with the ultimate destination of home-sweet-home, Canton, Ohio.

Trying to reflect on an entire semester only a week after it ends is tough. Cultural re-entry has been harder than the first week I was in India. Typical everyday things- such as going to the store, or the mall, or the gym... are just SO DIFFERENT. Hard to explain really. For one, the 'crowded mall' seemed pretttty empty to me on Saturday when my Mom and Grandma marveled over the excessively large Christmas crowds. Going from 14 million to 200,000 just makes things look so much.. smaller. Crazy, eh?

I might write in here a few more times to reflect on the semester, and share some funny cultural re-entry moments, but for now, thanks to all of you for sharing what has been the most exciting and life-changing semester of my life. Writing in a blog was the last thing I thought I'd do, but I guess when people actually read it it makes things a little easier, haha.

With Love,
Rachael

PS- A few pictures with the new families I made in India.

 Homestay family..

 Hindi family..

And all my sahaleys! Miss you all already!

Coming Full Circle

annnnd finally, the moment of truth: today at exactly 1:08 PM I submitted my 40 page ISP.... a whole 4 hours before the deadline. Impressive, eh?!

Wednesday was my last day in Jaipur, and bright and early Thursday morning (5:45 to be exact) I hopped the train back to Delhi. You know, I've learned a lot this semester- I managed to get from Jaipur to Delhi all alone, and at a reasonable cost! Yes, that means I also successfully navigated Delhi in rickshaws... finally, all those ridiculous and overpriced rides paid off. I spent Thursday hanging out at an ashram with some friends, and Thursday night went with my friend Poonam to her Madhu Auntie's house for a little home cooking and a comfy place to stay for the night. After spending 3.5 weeks in a guest house coming back to a home, even though its not my families, was so sooo nice.

Friday and Saturday seemed a little bit like Delhi vacation ... Poonam and I checked into a hotel with her cousin and friend who are studying for the year in Lucknow, and the 4 of us experienced what could be described a the luxurious life in Delhi. Expensive lunches (600 rupees.. who does that?!!? .. thats 11 dollars, btw), movie watching, walking around shops and another birthday celebration!! Our group re-united to celebrate Quinn's 21st New Delhi style, and it turned out to be MUCH more adventurous than mine .... going out with the Indian girls in Delhi turned out to be much easier and such a good time the second time around.

Of course we couldn't forget about the papers, so plenty of my weekend was spent fine tooth editing while simultaneously re-watching seasons of Glee.. Emily Hrichak, you will appreciate this especially. After 4 weeks of staring at the same document, it was SO NICE to finally turn something in today. Only one 20 minute presentation standing between me and freedom, and my return back to good ol' (coldddd) Ohio!

Thinking about coming home is a little bittersweet though. Being with such a small group for 14 weeks has come with its challenges, but overall its been so rewarding. And now I have 23 new friends, that I'm not all that excited to leave just yet. Good thing we're all checked back into Hotel Karina (where this crazy adventure began) to spend our last week in Delhi together.