I can’t believe there is only 3 days left of class, I feel so close to the other students, yet, it has gone by so fast. I feel so thankful to be with such a great group of students that make class such a good time. Yesterday we visited Indian Garden where we were able to take a walk through scenes of Indian villages throughout time. I was thankful to be there with Indian students because they explained the different traditions to me. My favorite was seeing the different types of weddings people have and the traditions that go along with them. After a long walk around the gardens we were able to cool off in the “rain dance”. Moments after going into the falling water I was learning how to dance from a group of about 10 kids, and I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. I continue to be amazed at how outgoing kids here are.
I am shocked at how much I have learned in such a short time. It’s from being so invested in my project, I have been able to make mistakes with my team and come back the next day to work together and solve it. In a typical class back home, I would encounter a mistake in a project and then forget about it until a week later when the class meets again. I find that having class everyday has allowed me to completely immerse myself in the project because I am free from any distractions from other classes. It has been challenging to communicate because we are all from such different backgrounds, yet, I am excited to finish the project because I have faith that everything will come together and our hard work will pay off.
Probably the hardest part of the trip is not petting any of the dogs. As I was walking today I noticed a little puppy hot on my trail. I named him Ralphie and we fed him a little street food. He followed us back to the scholar house. Here, we sat on the step with him and the security guard fed him 2 sandwiches. I am working on teaching him to sit, but it’s definitely a work in progress so I hope to see him tomorrow so that I can continue his training. I’m not sure what the policy is on bringing dogs from India to America but I if worse comes to worse I’ll fit him in my carry on!

One of my dance teachers