On January 7th I leave for Pondicherry, India for five months. The reality of the situation hasn't set in quite yet, so at this point the only anxiety I feel concerns the status of my Visa... because I just sent in the application today. However, I think everything will turn out fine (at least that's what my Mom is telling me).
The name of this blog- Chak De! India- is the title of a Indian movie about the Women's Indian Field Hockey team. One of my best friends (Kelly Rappe- who has an amazing blog from her semester in Ghana) and I finally watched it this past season, after saying we would since my freshman year of college. It was an awesome movie, and the title means something like "Go for it India!" I figured it was a fitting title.
I have a mental checklist that I keep running through- and which I should probably write down. At this point the Visa is out of my hands, so I need to call the bank and start buying items which should be useful to me in India. So far, everything has been much more complicated than I thought it would be. Today I expressed that to my Mom and she told me, "Of course, what did you expect?" I really had no idea as to how much a trip like this involved, making the arrangements has already been a lesson in travel... it's hard to go halfway across the world!
As for arrival in India as well as living, studying and traveling there I have no idea what to expect. This is the farthest I will have ever been away from home. I've never been to a country so far east- mentally I think myself ready for Indian culture and society but in reality I know it will be a huge shock. We'll see if I feel any more nervous as my departure date approaches!
