Submitted by Meghan Rogers on the 2024 Winter ENGL program in India …
Our transport to Assam (Guwahati) was a bit rocky at first in the Bagdogra airport. A gong would go off multiple times an hour calling flight boarding gates and any status updates. The volume had one level and it was LOUD. With only 2 boarding gates and many flights departing, the airport was chaos. Once we finally touched down in Assam, we were then transferred to our homestay family where we will spend the next week or so! The homestay is a completely immersive experience in and of itself. On our second day in Guwahati, we visited the Kamakya Temple and received vermillion blessings. The temple was amazing with stands outside lining up to buy beautiful jewelry, nicknacks, and scarves.
The family that two of the other girls and I are staying with has a 5 story private K-12 school in their backyard and 5 labradors roaming around the outdoor campus. Because the Assam harvest festival, Bihu, was on the 14th and 15th of January, our host family held a festival at their school for many of the high school students to perform traditional songs and dances including drums and flutes. All of the girls were wearing red and cream traditional saris with a bright red lip and the boys wore cream dhotis with a headpiece. The performances were breathtaking.
Prior to the festival, we had mentioned to our host family that all of the girls in our study abroad program would be interested in taking some sort of traditional dance class. One of the dance teachers was available a few hours before the festival and offered to host a 2-hour class for us. We had such a fun time and picked up the dance fairly quickly. Toward the end of the class, our dance teacher, Arpana, slipped in that we were going to be performing at the harvest festival alongside the students, we were floored, laughing so hard in disbelief. Two hours later, we were on stage with over 200 people watching us dance.
After having a late night, we were off to Kaziranga National Park the next morning for a 3-day reset. Once we arrived at Diphlu River Lodge, we were welcomed by hospitable staff, luxurious huts, and a buffet lunch on the outdoor patio. There were elephants with barback mounts riding them throughout the resort with lambs and cows roaming freely. The Diphlu River Lodge is a beautiful resort with amazing accommodations and beautiful views. Diphlu also held a Bihu celebration with incredible performances and a delicious barbeque by the fire pit and dining hut. While in Kaziranga we saw over a hundred rhinos, hog deer, water buffalo, and many more animals. The safaris that we went on were absolutely amazing and lasted anywhere from 3 to 5 hours each. While we were most excited to see a tiger, we unfortunately never crossed paths. We got Swedish massages and enjoyed a very fun and relaxing stay. After 3 days and two nights in Kaziranga, we began our return to Guwahati. We stopped for a roadside coconut and continued on our way to begin our service work with the Parijat Academy. (Submitted on January 29, 2024)
