It's been a while, hasn't it?

With the sister!

Its been a couple of months since I last wrote to my readers, sorry about that. Well, to summarize it, I'm back in India and it has been a roller coaster ride. Far more complex that I had imagined. Things have changed, and so have I. My structured life isn't the way it used to be. Sometimes it's taunting, but looking at the larger picture, I know its for the best. Leading two lives, can be quite the challenge with my two oh-so different sets of friends. Hell, even my families are worlds apart!












In all honesty, I haven't found the inspiration to write about my life lately. The mundane routine leaves me with almost no time for leisurely activities. The whole process of change is absolutely overwhelming, leaving me in emotional turmoil at times. But with new friendships bubbling, and a better relationship with my family, I learn to cherish the little things about life. I cannot possibly be learning more from this transition!



There's something you should know me, I am a fanatic when it comes to Indian history. The Indian Independence struggle, the partition, the Nation's leaders, it all enthrals me to no end. Today I decided to laze around for a while, not being bogged down by responsibilities. My body utterly drained from an important school event, I decided to curl up in bed and watch a movie. I picked one called ''The Day India Burned'', it's more of a documentary really by an English Historian.

This time around, it wasn't myself getting swept off my feet emotionally (although I did shed a tear or two) but more of analyzing the religion, studying the geography and digging deep into history. And it was 2 hours of breathtaking tales of politics mingled with greed, hunger, lust and love complemented by religion, migration and other not so pleasant sentiments.

I know you're probably wondering where my fascinating adventure abroad fits into the scheme here. But it does, in a large way actually. Studying Gandhi extensively, reading on different points of view on this man, both the praises and critics has led me to believe and stand by his principle of Ahimsa, or non violence. The deeper I dig, the more rooted I stand to my belief that diversity and tolerance are the very base of mankind, if not overpowered by greed and unreasonable beliefs.

Today I felt the need to jot this down, as an overwhelming wave of inspiration hit me. As always, thank you for reading! (:

22, and it's rolling

Journey's coming to an end. Am I sad? No. Am I happy? No. Am I a mess? Yes.
Remember how I mentioned in the very beginning when  I started my blog, when I reached Argentina, and it was all a blur for about a month? It's happening all over again, the emotions, the nostalgia, the roller coaster basically. But only this time, it's the other way round. I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to miss all the things that took me so long to get used to, the mate, the siestas, and the winter.


I had a picture painted in my mind of how things are going to be when I go back home, being back with my friends and family after a year. Eating my grandma's food every Sunday and going to school and having a blast with all my friends in biology class. Just to give you an idea, this is my family from India in traditional clothes. And all this came crashing down with my last orientation I had a few weeks ago. Orientation helps the exchangers to come to terms with the culture shock and guides us through the year with the highs and lows. The orientation was definitely a low. All the volunteers who have already been on the exchange programme , told us about how the most difficult part of your year is when you go back home. About how you've grown so much as a person and possibly people won't be able to relate to the adventure that you've been through in this hell of a year. But I guess with all this being said, at the end of the day you have some of the best memories in the most beautiful places, with some amazing people which can't be taken away from you, no matter what.


Now that I've described my life in India a little bit, let me tell you about my family in Argentina. My host dad has a passion for food, and has collected spices from all over the world. I don't think I've tasted a single dish that I haven't liked in the past 4 months. Even if he threatens me to feed me beef sometimes. I have immense respect for my mum because (forgive my language) she works her ass off. My brother, being like any younger sibling is "rompe bolas" (annoying). But sometimes I get back home after a hard day and he gives me a tight hug and tells me that he loves me.Victoria is my host sister who means the world to me, but you don't want to get too close if she's angry.

LIST OF THINGS I WOULDN'T HAVE NORMALLY DONE (if not for exchange)

At the football finals, they weren't kidding when they said football is religion!

• Trekked on a glacier
• Rafted under the waterfalls of Brazil
• Have a family on the other side of the world
• Become a tango dancer
• Had a celebrity chef cook for me
• learnt a foreign language.

Thanks for reading!

Iguazu

This was taken in  Buenos Aires with my friend Nele from Germany

I haven't written in a really long time, with all the travelling and making the most of my last month here in Argentina. So this post I'm going to write about the vacation I took last month to the Iguazu falls. Like the other trip that I took to the glacier, it's impossible not to have the time of your life when you're with a bunch of other exchange students who practically feel like family. The trip started in Buenos Aires which always leaves me fascinated with the culture it holds, the colourful houses, the tango in the streets with fancy costumes and how incredibly modern the city is.

The next day we left for the city, Puerto Iguazu from where one has access to the Iguazu falls(one of the 7 natural wonders of the world) which forms the border between Argentina and Brazil. The Iguazu Falls are absolutely beautiful, to actually get to it, you have to trek a good one hour but all in all, definitely worth the wait.
Now let me get to the most exciting part, once you take trek for a little longer and a little deeper into the jungle, you get a fantastic view of the "Graganta del Diablo" which translates the Devil's throat. It's called the way it is because you walk on a manmade passage that is built over the river which seems calm and peaceful, till you reach a point where it just drops. And all you feel is mist, lots of it. The water falls, 80 meters and completely wets your clothes. And honestly the sensation is SO overwhelming. Personally, I couldn't catch my breath for a split second, and I just stood there speechless and I'm not exaggerating, speechless. For about 15 minutes I was mesmerized , overwhelmed with tears flowing down my cheeks. I don't even know why I got so emotional! But I did.




The next way we went to Brazil to see a show of the different dances from all the countries of Latin America. And we drank the traditional vodka based drink of Brazil, the black women were absolutely beautiful and it goes without saying that the people were over-friendly.

Brazil's view

The next day in Brazil we went to see the waterfalls, which is Argentina's property. What you see from the other side is a panoramic view of the falls, beautiful but still does not compare to the "Gragnta del Diablo". There was a rainbow in the middle of the scene which just made it all the more dramatic. The funny part is being in a country that has so much natural beauty has gotten me used to it. 




We then went to the border which seperates 3 countries, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay,which  isn't common obviously.  The little pillar in the background of the picture which is painted red, white ad blue is the flag of Paraguay. 

Adrenaline pumping would be an understatement of the next activity. Still at Brazil, we went rafting in a rubber boat called "gomon". Me being the person I am, sat myself at the front of the gomon. We then starting rafting down the river, till we reached the falls, and then literally went under the waterfalls, the least powerful one ofcourse. It's probably the most dangerous thing I've done my life. 


At the end of the day I feel like the friends I made here, with whom I spent only a couple of weeks with will always be like my unbiological family. 

The countdown -100

February was a really unexpected month, probably the most difficult though. After 6 months, I decided I needed change for the better and did a switch in host family. With the confrontation, paper work and what not, let's just say it wasn't so pleasant! And let me stress on the better, because things have been better than ever lately!

After 3 very lazy months, school finally started. Talking about school, I understand everything just like a regular student, though I get out of homework at times .
Justo(excuse my occasional Spanish) ,after about a week, Easter break started. Which goes on for about a week. So being in Argentina, you can't expect anything but a vacation!
Not that I'm complaining, of course.

So bags packed, the 5 of us headed to Salta and Jujuy which is in North Argentina. Now let me tell you something about the north. When I was in India, I had a mental picture of how Argentina would be like, Gauchos(cowboys) and folklore on the streets. Ample Asados(beef bbq) and driving through mountains. Salta is all that and more, absolutely beautiful! Apart from the 6am-12pm schedule which ensured we saw practically every nook and corner of the north, it was all that family time which made all the better. My host sister, Victoria is what you'd call "Buena onda" . Part best friend, part sister, part mother, part practically everything you can ask for!

Now for my friends, I wouldn't change them for THE WORLD! There's Lola, the pretty one, practically best friend. Then there's Herrera, the rough hocky player who thinks I'm a "maricona"  , then there's Yeye, the quiet one. Joana, the crazy dancer, and Mora, my running/ice-cream buddy. It's pure fun getting invited to the good parties with the girls and the night outs.I have no clue how I'm going to deal without them when I return to India

Also other exchangers, must watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IpOfFlX8gc

Enero, lo mas (it's in english)

January was simply brilliant, much needed after depressing December. Safe to say I just had the absolute best few weeks in Argentina. Bags packed, January 2nd left for Cordoba with my host family. I felt better because a lot of family bonding happened. Now when I look back, I can't imagine why I didn't spend this much family time in India. Anyway, Cordoba has the most beautiful beaches! With my host parents always looking after my 3 year old host brother, I pretty much get all the freedom I want.
So in Cordoba, I wondered off when we got to a river, swam for at least an hour, it felt so extremely peaceful, till I reached the mountains. At one point you have nothing to look at but the mountains in front of you, and the water starts getting chilly. The streets of Cordoba are swamped with street artists, singing, dancing, painting, men on stilts, clowns and puppeteers.

Heading back from Cordoba, I have exactly a day and a half to change my wardrobe from beach wear to winter wear. NOT EASY. Once I reach South Argentina, everything starts getting a lot more beautiful and well,  expensive. Stay with another family in Neuquen for 3 days who are also hosting an exchange student from China. So it was nice to have company in the family!


And this is when my trip to Perito Monero starts. We were 42 exchange students, 1 from India (me) , 2 from  US, and 38 from different countries from Europe. What I really liked it that you don't make a friends and stick to him, every meal, every outing, you talk to different people. Different people from different countries and different cultures and it's amazing how different they are. But at the same time you  make friends who you can't let go at the end of 2 weeks.


Once we reached Calafate, the scenery was unbelievable. Snow covered mountains all around you. We then went to the National Park where we could look at the glacier which was about 2 hours away. The entire national park had one dustbin at the entrance. To preserve that one glacier, people could use the bathroom, the dustbin, or could smoke at the entrance of the park of thousands of miles. Amazing really!



The glacier is called Perito Monero and is the 3rd largest sweet water reserve in the world. So you can imagine how enormous it was! Standing there and looking at the glacier for hours is really fun when you have the most fun friends screaming at the glacier to start cracking. At one point after ages of waiting, we heard this loud rumbling noise and  masses of the glacier collapsed. It was just amazing to watch. We then walked took a catamaran to a close by mountain and put on these special shoes to walk on ice, SO uncomfortable! Anyway trekking on the glacier was such an experience! Once we were almost back to the mountain, the guides crushed some ice off the glaciers and put in glasses and poured us some whiskey as he congrajulated us for finishing the trek .

What is sad about all of this is that you never know when you'll see all these friends again. Alot of them were fascinated at the fact that I'm from India and they've all watched movies on Indian weddings. So we made a pact that if and when I get married, they're all invited!

Thanks for reading this incredibly long post!

Deep, I know

So today I decided to go in a little deeper and come to terms with this emotional roller coaster that I'm on. Here goes:
After a very uncomfortable 3 hour bus ride, finally got to Rosario and met with my AFS contact person Luciana. Either she's really patient or doesn't have a choice but to listen to everything that I've been going through. Doing an exchange to Spain herself she really understands what it is like. So after indulging myself  buying shoes and clothes, I got back home and there was a blackout. Having nothing else to do, I started thinking on what Luciana and I had discussed . In spite of having all the freedom in the world, in spite of all the shopping, in spite of all the amazing parties, in spite of everything being perfect. At the end of the day, you feel hollow from a sense of security. And I didn't think I would be affected by it.
All this while being at home back in India, I loved the freedom that I got, although restricted. And now, I really want familiarity and someone, somewhere just helping me along the way.

Anyway, a new batch of exchangers are arriving in February and apparently we're going to be the "experienced" ones. Can you imagine? Being as lost and clueless as we are and still trying to figure it all out? But I guess we have  to give it to ourselves for surviving the first 3 months with your world tossed upside down

Sol, mi amor

It's been absolutely everything I can ask for from an exchange. It took a while, close to 3 months to be precise, to get comfortable. As of right now, summer has just started and Argentina is absolutely beautiful !
I did not realize how much I love summer (and the gorgeous pool), one of the reasons I miss home this much.

As of  right now, I've settled in. When I wake up every morning, it doesn't feel like a strange place anymore. I mean, what's not to love about the over friendly people, the insane parties, the innumerable holidays and just being laid back? I cringed for the first time last week when I thought of going back home.
It's bitter sweet really, I can't wait to see my friends and family back home. But it scares me that there are a lot of people in Argentina who mean so much to me, who I'll never see again.

My holidays started last week. that's no school for 3 months, YES THREE! It's the yearly holidays for Christmas, New Year, Easter and a bunch of other festivals I don't know how to spell in spanish. I cannot wait for Christmas! It's the first time I'm celebrating with a christian family the typical way. And by the way they're describing it, it sounds just brilliant, with Papa Noel (Santa Clause) and what not.

Last week my host mother, Natalia gave me her cycle that she got for her 15th birthday. So I went out on the cycle and I see cars coming at me in the opposite direction, took me a second to realize now it's keep to your right and not left. Here, I live in a small town so riding the cycle isn't dangerous at all. So I rode, and rode, and rode till I realized I had reached the highway and had been out for about 3 hours. Yesterday again I took the cycle to the river, its unbelievably peaceful over there.

I've been going for Reggae classes lately, not exactly what you'd expect an Indian to be dancing but it's so much fun ! And we're doing a show in December. It's part of a festival in my town! Now, more than the basic problems like food and weather, the "high school" drama has kicked in. Had to come in somewhere I suppose!

List of Argentine things I want to do before leaving:
-Attend a Quince(15th birthdays are big here)
-Attend a wedding
-Go to the glaciers in the south(one of the seven wonders)
-Go to the Iguazu Falls(supposed to make you cry apparantely)
-Try asado(beef barbeque)
-Get accustomed to Mate(traditional drink, bitter as hell)

Thanks for reading! (: