Adjustment

I wrote that last post the first night that I arrived in India. Sorry that I had published it so late, but that was the first time I had internet access. So, it turns out that my first night when I stayed In Mumbai I was actually in BOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!!  and my house was right next to the most famous movie star in India, but I did not meet him or anything L I was not aware of this fact until after I left so I do not have any pictures either, but I can tell you that it was surprisingly unimpressive. It was a very nice home and the area was nice, but for the most elite part of India it was nothing. I would compare it to an upscale suburb that could be found in any small town.  

I am not sure how many days I have been here, but I think it has been a week. I believe today is Thursday  :/ It is very hard for me to differentiate the days because I have been sleeping for almost my entire stay here. Firstly, there is a 10 and a half hour time difference and therefore my days and nights are switched around and it is hard for me to sleep on schedule. Secondly coming from USA to India I have lost a whole day’s worth of sleep. Thirdly, my body cannot process Indian food properly; the food is very heavy and VERY spicy. I could rant for hours about Indian food, but I will save that for another post. Indian people eat literally every half an hour, and not just a snack an entire meal! It is ridiculous, but like I said I will tell you more in detail later. Anyway, within only the first week of being here my culture shock is over. Everything around me seems natural. Obviously I still have much more to learn, but I’m starting to feel more comfortable. I am very surprised at how fast my body is able to adjust.  I have not done much yet. Actually I have barely left the house except to EAT! Today I am going to go shopping for Indian clothing and on Monday I will start school. Eventually I will find things to do, I just have to get a little bit more settled in my routine. I am signing up for many classes like mendhi, dance and language. This morning I started my yoga class which was very interesting. I have a teacher that comes to my house every morning at 6:00. It’s a great way to start the day. However Indian yoga and American yoga are very different. In America yoga is an exercise, but in India it is a series of breaths that strengthen certain organs in the body. It energizes my body for sure, but it has also made me very sore. It is very fun and my entire family wakes up to do yoga together. I can’t wait to take more classes and learn about Indian culture!

Culture Shock!!!!!!!!

After three different flights , 19 hours of flying and a whole year of preparation I have finally arrived in India! At this point in time I would like to tell you something inspiring and uplifting about my experience, but honestly I have ZERO idea of what is going on around me! The only thing I can say right now is that India completely overwhelms me. The moment I got off the plane I could smelt the difference in the air. Right now it is monsoon season, which means the humidity level is frighteningly high. The temperature is 89 degrees Fahrenheit with 88% humidity! Because of this the air is heavy and musty and it is almost hard to breathe.  Up until I got off the plane this exchange did not feel real, but it sure does now! Everything here is foreign to me. I have extreme culture shock and unless you have had this experience before it is very hard to understand, but I will do my best to explain it to you. This is the scariest and most empowering feeling I have ever felt. It’s like I am a child again. I have to relearn everything I was ever taught, even simple things like how to eat a meal or how to properly enter a house. There is adventure inside of everything I do.  My heart is racing at 100 miles per minute and my eyes are constantly swelling up with tears of excitement. It feels like I have opened my eyes for the first time, and my life has just begun. I have a fresh start and I just feel so ALIVE!  Life feels rich with opportunities, and I have all the drive in the world to seize every one of them!  There is so much adrenaline running through my body that I don’t know what to do, I’m supposed to be sleeping right now, but this feels impossible (plus I’m jet lagged.) I cannot find the words to give justice to the feeling that I am experiencing. Culture shock is something that you would have to experience for yourself to understand, and I hope every single one of you does! This is the highest high and most intense feeling anyone could ever have. Life feels miraculous and full of meaning. Going on exchange is the best decision I have ever made, and this feeling is the reason I wanted to become an exchange student.

Goodbye

 Goodbyes are strange, but I have become surprisingly accustomed to them in the past couple of days. I have said good bye to all of my friends. I have said goodbye to all of my family members and I have had to say goodbye to all things familiar to me. I don’t believe there is a comfortable way to say goodbye to someone in a case like mine, especially to people whom I have known since childhood and whom I know I may never see again. I have tried my hardest to avoid having to say awkward goodbyes, but tonight I can’t hide anymore because it is my last night in America. I just ate my last American meal, and watched my last American movie and tonight is the last night I will sleep in my own bed. This exchange is still what I want more than anything in the world, but I underestimated how much I will miss life in Portage, Wisconsin. I have lived here in the same house in the same room for 17 years. I have known nothing else, and now I am looking at this life here from a distance, it is the most peculiar feeling. I hear my friends talking about plans that they have for this weekend and I realize that I am no longer part of the group, this isn’t my life anymore. A chapter of my life is over, the only chapter I have ever experienced. Everything I have ever owned fits in two black and pink polka-dotted rectangular suitcases and strangely I couldn’t even fill them, after packing everything I still have 15 pounds of extra room.  The things that I have been doing for 17 years like going to the fair or going to a music festival I now can no longer be a part of. I am going to miss a lot, but I know that I will be experiencing so much more than I could ever here. I am more excited than ever to go to India, but I am pained to leave the life that I have lived here for my entire life. To be honest I never really expected to miss this life, but I will. I’m not too proud to admit that I am a little scared, but I know I will have an amazing year. Goodbye America!

Me in My Local Newspaper!

http://www.wiscnews.com/portagedailyregister/news/article_eed0c6e2-ae97-11e0-9e27-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story

My Indian Odyssey Begins...........In 19 Days

Hello followers, and thank you for joining my Indian Odyssey! I am Nicole Bieno and as of right now I am an average 17 year old high school student living in Portage, Wisconsin USA, but in 19 days this will all change. My world is going to be flipped upside down! Rotary International District 6250 has so kindly given me the opportunity to be an ambassador for my country in Surat, India for a WHOLE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately you cannot join me on my adventure in person, but reading it on the internet in painstaking detail is the next best thing, right? (I will do my best anyway).

            Thanks to It’s Your World Travel I got my plane ticket and Visa yesterday and I’m totally jazzed! I am leaving on July, 21^st  from Madison and arriving in Mumbai on the 22^nd. I have a whole day of just flying :/ but it’s a small price to pay for the amazing opportunities that lay ahead.  I have been preparing for this exchange for basically a year and now it’s finally here, it’s utter insanity, and somehow I still don’t feel prepared. Although I don’t think someone could ever be completely prepared for this kind of a situation. This is going to be the best year of my life, but it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a year of extreme ups and downs. High highs and very low lows, and you I will fill you in on all of it! I can’t wait, and I hope you can’t either! But for now I’m going to enjoy my last 19 days in America working with my family and loving my puppies. The next time I write to you I’ll be in India, (I got excited just writing that) J Until then!

                      -Namaste