Traveling Outside the Box: Study Abroad Memoir on India
“Going into college, I wanted to take my traveling experiences to another level. Finally, during my senior year of college, I was able to study abroad.The India program particularly peaked my interest because India is such a big country with vast amounts of culture, religion, and cuisine. I was tired of going to Western countries where I felt like I was experiencing America again (minus the English).”
I’ve always loved traveling since I was a child. Every Easter in high school, I spent my vacation in Europe seeing new countries. Going into college, I wanted to take my traveling experiences to another level. Finally, during my senior year of college, I was able to study abroad. The India program particularly peaked my interest because India is such a big country with vast amounts of culture, religion, and cuisine. I was tired of going to Western countries where I felt like I was experiencing America again (minus the English). The study abroad program in India with SUNY Albany gave me that and much more.
I arrived to Bangalore and stayed with my host family (a husband and wife) at their foundation’s, Global Citizens for Sustainable Development, headquarters. Bangalore is an upcoming city in which the tech industry is thriving. If you go into the main city, you will see tons of your favorite stores like Nike or Adidas. Do not go in there! Go into the local shops and bakeries and try their cuisine. A must have is the Masala dosa; it is a Southern India delicacy made from rice, lentils, potato, etc. I thought I was an extremely picky eater but I really enjoyed trying all the new dishes in India. However, I would recommend choosing your street vendors wisely because your body isn’t used to how food is cleaned and prepared in India.
Traveling within India was an exciting new experience for me. I took the train to rural Bangalore to Vedike, our foundation’s location home for boys. It is now an accredited school for both boys and girls. During my time there I learned the language of the region, Kannada. During the day, I helped build a dormitory and played games, like cricket, with the boys who lived there (this was the very first time I learned how to play cricket!).
After leaving Bangalore, we made our way to Alappuzha, Kerala. It is a city in the state of Kerala which is mostly made up of water. A primary mode of transport is by boat. We stayed in a nice Homestay there and meals were provided. Here we got a popular oil massage in the region for about 10-20 USD and took several riverboat cruises to explore the town. From our short time there, we flew to New Delhi and I learned that smaller airports in India are beyond interesting. Before even checking your bag into an airline, it goes through a bag scanner like TSA. Therefore anything you normally would put in your checked bags would have to be removed. Smaller airlines also charge extra for anything above 30/40 pounds so pack light if you can. If you are tall like I am (5’10+) please save yourself the trouble and don’t go, coach, because the legroom is beyond small when flying domestically in India.
Finally, we arrived in New Delhi where we actually stayed in Old New Delhi, a town where you immerse yourself in the fast-paced culture of India. During my time in New Delhi, I got the chance to ride a rickshaw, buy souvenirs (make sure you negotiate), and of course, take a trip to Agra and visit the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal might have been the most beautiful place I have been to (and I’ve traveled to 8 countries thus far). The architecture and the environment are just so serene even in a crowd of hundreds of people
Coming back to America after a month abroad was eye-opening, to say the least. I never realized how picky I was and how unwilling I was to try the food before I left to go to India. Furthermore, exploring rural impoverished areas and actually living in one put my life into perspective. We complain about not having an AC when it’s hot outside, but don’t realize that there are people with no hot water, no fans, no plumbing, etc in other parts of the world. I became more grateful than what I was before for my environment and took that experience to make others knowledgeable. I recommend every person to do some type of trip abroad to a non-Western country and live with the true inhabitants of the country. Resorts will foster great Instagram photos, but immersing yourself in the culture will truly make you a world traveler.
Namaste.
Bria McKiver New York, New York
Follow Bria on Instagram : @briasstac
