Farewell India…

During my short stay, I have learnt so many unforgettable lessons that I will hold dearly.

Once a quite reserved person, my confidence has grown tremendously throughout the trip. India, you have opened my eyes and have taught me to become my authentic self, and for that, I feel I am forever indebted to you.

Thank you for the new international friends that I have made.

Arriving in India, we were a group of very different people that were brought together by a shared experience. We laughed and debated our differences and similarities between the UK and India. Tried to learn some words and phrases in Hindi and even though we may not have been perfect, at least we can now count to three (ek, do, teen!). As we to learnt more about each other, we soon became friends, friends that we will always remember.

Thank you for welcoming us with open arms.

You allowed us to experience your culture and all it has to offer. From learning to haggle in markets to explaining the historical and cultural meaning behind temples, the buddies invited us to experience every aspect of life in India.

The faculty was also accommodating going to extreme lengths to timetable activities everyone would appreciate. With lectures relating to the different courses we studied at Brunel, we saw what it was like to study our prospective courses at Amity.

We also learnt more about India and its culture, such as in one class we learnt different forms of meditation and yoga. Whereas other classes focused on lessons explaining India’s importance in the world today. Valuable lessons that made me so much more appreciative of your country.

Thank you for introducing me to new places.

Before arriving in India, I was not well travelled (I had not even flown outside of Europe!). Having seen a glimpse of what India has to offer in books and online, I wanted to experience the sights for myself.

One of my favourite parts of the trip was when we had a tour around Old Delhi by a female tour guide. Run by the charity Eyes Open, it allowed women to work within the tourism industry. She made us walk around the maze-like streets of old Delhi, Climb up endless stairs to the top of the spice market roof where we saw the wonders of Old Delhi at once. She lead us through another side of India that we had not seen, introducing us to the secret wonders many may pass and not acknowledge.

From seeing Parliament, the Taj Mahal as well as visiting the city of Jaipur, it is fair to say we did a lot in the brief time we were in India. It sounds cliché, but this trip has really brought out a desire to travel and see what else the world has to offer.

I have realised the world is not as unattainable as I once thought. If you had told me a year ago that I would be flying across the world to India, I would have laughed because it was something I never thought I could do. But now having done it, I would do it all again in a heartbeat.