November Recap: YES Abroad Poster Child who?!? & Truth About Exchange

Blog # 14 - November Recap: November Recap: YES Abroad Poster Child who?!? & Truth About Exchange

So... I am going to dive deep in this topic as I think both sides of the equation need to be known regarding an exchange. 

First off, I would like to start off by mentioning that I am beyond blessed and love the life I am living in India, but that does not mean there are no challenges in exchange either. On social media, all you can see are the good sides of our exchange, and not the challenges. I say “our” as in most - if not all - of the YES Abroad & AFS India cohort love to show off our immersion into the culture in terms of the amazing new things we are living through, without showing the harder times as well. This November has been the hardest for me: going back to my normal studious routine from the past month full of adventure, cultural learning, and travel left me depressed and kind of just sad; as well as this, unnecessary “formalities” complicated most things, furthering my “low point” of my exchange. While being in this “low point”, I posted many fun activities I did of last month and some occasional ones I did this month. These Instagram posts, from making Rangoli on Diwali to International Education Week, were actually reposted by YES and the State Dept. @exchangeourworld. Apparently, chatter went around some of the YES countries and I am now known as the YES Abroad poster child. 

I really find this interesting on how social media can change the way reality actually is. Behind one screen someone must think “Wow, he looks like he’s having so much fun.” Don’t get me wrong, I really am living my best life … now! But during the time I posted the picture, I was facing a hard time, in which most people on the other side of the screen probably thought during that very moment I was having the time of my life.

All in all, I decided to discuss this as writing helped me reflect, and in turn, learn a lot about myself from my “low point”, and thought that others could relate as well to the perfect-exchange stigma. The age of digital technology makes an exchange a lot easier with the world at your fingertips to help you at rough moments, in which I did and talked to other YES students hosted not just in India, but around the globe. It can also be detrimental to your experience, as the YES Pre-Departure Orientation best stated, “Comparison is the thief of joy!”

Anyways, with a couple days left of November, I am still going to write this month’s recap because although it hasn’t been as busy as October, it has been just as insightful as this month has been full of personal challenges, allowing me to grow as an exchange student, as well as a person.

Even if I haven’t traveled as much this month, I still had a lot of fun celebrating Diwali, International Education Week, Amity International Model United Nations, and an amazing Thanksgiving. Diwali – the festival of light - is a five-day festival marking the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness, as well as celebrating new beginnings as it ends with the start of a new year on the Hindu calendar. It is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains around India. In celebration, firecrackers are lit to light up the night in the triumph of evil. For the past couple of years, the government put out a campaign “Say NO to crackers” – with its mission on discouraging the public to ignite fireworks due to hazardous pollution levels. I’ve commonly heard people say “What is a Diwali without firecrackers?!”, resulting with a failed campaign as pollution levels the next day reached 805 at the nation’s capital (0-50 is good satisfactory air quality; the measurement stops at Severe/Hazardous at 300).

Painting Rangoli for the Diwali Festival!

For International Education Week (IEW), I was at school for two days of the week, and then at the Model United Nations organized by my school. At school, with the generosity of my English teacher, we organized a discussion on the contrasts of the Western and Eastern styles of education. I had more activities planned but the MUN fell on the same week. But it also was perfect timing as the whole YES Abroad cohort spent it together, incorporating IEW activities at the multiple outreach events for exchange students at the MUN; such as making cards with Atulasha students (underprivileged boys) at AIMUN. 

Pictures from IEW at Amity University Noida!

 

Due to these great activities organized for us, we did not spend too much time at the MUN, but anyway was a delegate of Iceland at the World Trade Organization. We took lots of pictures though during the free time so might as well include those!

Pictures from AIMUN!

 

For Thanksgiving, my class teacher (also an English teacher) organized a potluck for me to spend Thanksgiving in India. I also spoke to the class about American/Hawai’ian gratitude (spirit of Aloha) and my experience here at first being too vocal with my appreciation, as it is less common in India to show thanks.

 Pictures from Thanksgiving at school!

The next monday, I spoke at the morning assembly to show my gratitude to the principal, coordinator, teachers, host family, classmates, and janitors for making my experience as successful as it is.

Lastly, I went to volunteer at this animal shelter called the Karma Animal Foundation. One kind elderly lady and her niece run it by themselves with around 50 dogs to care for.