Submitted by Natalie Looney on the 2017 winter session program in India sponsored by the Department of English…
As my first week in India comes to a close, I’m reflecting upon how colorful my experience here has been so far. Our group of 10 students, currently stationed in the Darjeeling, has become very close-knit. With each other’s support we attempt to understand this entirely new culture in which we’ve been submerged. We are very discordant here, and the locals flock to our group when we visit monuments and ask to take a photo with us. One woman even thrust her infant into my friend Sam’s arms for a staged photo-op!
We flew into New Delhi, and from there we traveled to Darjeeling and spent a night in the mountains in Nepali territory. Tomorrow, we’re off to a homestay in Assam, and then we’ll end our program in Jaipur and New Delhi again. The difference between the people (facial features, skin color, mannerisms), customs (social etiquette, clothing), food, and buildings, from New Delhi to Darjeeling, was very shocking to me. I am looking forward to seeing how these qualities compare in Assam and Jaipur, because I now realize how diverse India is. The states are so dramatically different that they are almost like different countries!!