As I’m sitting here in my dorm, I just realized how fortunate I’m of being given the opportunity to do my study abroad in India. Before arriving, I attended the study abroad orientation where they tell you how you will go through different stages once you arrive. The first stage is cultural shock and since we only been in India for a couple of days, I can reassure you that most of us were very shocked by how different life is in India compare to the USA. This picture was taken when we arrived to the university and the students gave us flower necklaces to welcome us.

I can tell you as much as I was shocked and I was pleasantly surprise and thought that we got more than we bargained for. We were greeted by a group of students who main purpose was to make us feel welcome and at home. I feel extremely happy to say that at almost every minute you will be approached by someone asking you; how are you and if you need anything. The students and volunteers have shown us what is like to be a host, which is something that I think most of us could learn and apply to our life when we go back home.

We will be staying at the scholar house while in Hubli and everyone shares room with someone. The dorm rooms are comfortable and spacious. After we finished unpacking we left to have dinner with the rest of the group. All of us were tired due to the long journey but we put our best foot forward and had a good time eating and talking to the rest of the students.

The following day, soon after we woke up, we had typical south Indian breakfast and we headed to our classroom. Classes start at 9:00am sharp and it end at 5:00pm. Classes consist of lectures and group activities and the best part is chai tea breaks. The first day of classes we had the opportunity to get to know our teammates as we work on our first group assignment. After class, most of us came back to the scholar house and spend the rest of the day getting to know the rest of the students. As we talked to the students we found out that in India guests are considered gods and because of this they shower you with attention and nice gestures. India is a country that will leave anyone a long-lasting impression and as of me I can already tell you, I don’t think my life could ever be the same after going through this experience.