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.
Nicole I am so jealous. You will have already been in India for almost 2 months before I get to India. You're lucky. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you landed safely & have arrived in your new home. Portage and Rotary are thinking of you! It sounds so very exciting!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Portage Rotary Club is so proud of you Nicole. We know you will be a great ambassador. Enjoy the experience and I can't wait to read more about your adventures! Sue Weyh, Portage Rotary Club
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what that feels like, and you're right: it is intense and empowering. Everyone should have the chance to experience it at some point in their lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is, this feeling doesn't last forever. But your exchange lasts a year. Nor is this truly "culture shock", per se. Culture shock is more the depression and disorientation that arises two or three months into an exchange – that relearning everything you're ever taught, as you say. Now you have momentum. You have drive. You still feel like you're going somewhere. But it won't always be like this in India.
In fact, there will probably be times in your exchange that will be excruciatingly boring. Times where you don't want to do anything at all. Times where you just want to shut yourself in your bedroom and sleep forever. It's at times like these that you have to keep yourself motivated, and remember the intense drive you're feeling right now. You have to remember how lucky you are to be where you are, and keep yourself busy at every opportunity. Even when you don't really feel like doing something you're offered, just say YES. (Except drugs. Say no to drugs :P)
Keep living life to the fullest, Nicole. You're going to do great. :)