Okay, so if you're reading this, at this point you know I'm headed to India in just about 2 weeks. I've started this blog so I can share my experiences with my friends and family, and I hope it's enjoyable and interesting for everyone! I'm blogging about my experiences because the Internet connection is unreliable in Jaipur, making Skype nearly impossible to use, and the solid 12 hr time zone difference makes phone calls inconvenient. Of course, I will have e-mail, so anyone who wants to contact me can at mcc4ak@virginia.edu.
I figured I would start blogging a little before I actually get to India so I can explain the trip and do a test run or two of actually writing entries. So, here goes.
In mid-February, I got accepted into a program called the Critical Language Scholarship, which fully finances and organizes intensive language immersion programs in all the Critical Languages, thus designated by the government for their strategic or cultural importance. I have now been studying the Hindi language, spoken in all its permutations throughout Northern India and Pakistan by roughly 180 million people, for two years now. It has a rich and intensely fascinating past and makes up a part of an equally rich and fascinating culture, and I have been given the opportunity to study it for 10 weeks in the city of Jaipur, in Rajasthan, as state in Northern India.
Jaipur is referred to as "The Pink City" because of the coloring of many of its historical buildings and districts. It is a very old Rajput city, and is very religiously and culturally diverse, being home to large populations of Hindus, Muslims and Jains, among others. It is also well-known for its vegetarian cuisine, which was featured on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's show "No Reservations."
During the course of the trip, I will have the opportunity to visit other parts of the Subcontinent and take part in some very exciting cultural experiences- we will be learning to cook Indian food, we'll wear Indian clothing and even live with a host family for the full 10 weeks. It is billed as an intense immerison program, and so far it sounds like they weren't kidding about that!
So far, I am spending most of my time trying to get ready and keep my cool while I wait for June 8th to roll around, when I head to Washington D.C. for orientation and departure! I can't wait to get going, and I hope everyone enjoys reading my blog as I *attempt* to post in a timely manner. :)
Check out the links below for more information!
http://clscholarship.org/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaipur
