As I sat in a tiny bus with more people and suitcases that it was meant to hold, racing through Mumbai surrounded by the sound of German behind me, Spanish in front of me, Hindi from the driver, and the occasional Polish outburst from Ada, you'd think 'being in India' would've sunk in. Despite the distinct smell, the humidity and heat, the stores that looked like a patchwork quilt of metal and scrap wood and advertisements, and the seeming lack of road rules, it still didn't seem real. It had all gone so easy. On the plane from Amsterdam to Mumbai, I had a window seat and nobody sitting beside me and I lounged around claiming the two as a couch and slept excessively. It was dark when I landed around 11 pm Mumbai time. I was greeted with hugs by the four second years that had come to pick up a batch of incoming first years up at the airport. They had been waving Mahindra UWC of India signs and debating with a security guard whether they were allowed to sit on the one side of the fence. After a bit, Louise from Brazil arrived and soon after most of the others did too. The drive was long and crazy. Dodging rickshaws and stray dogs and the bigger potholes left and right, loud Latino and Bollywood music blasting from the speakers; for a little while all the first years could do was laugh out of sheer exhaustion and disbelief.
When I finally arrived on campus after a long 6 hour drive, it was 8 in the morning. A few second years that were walking by greeted us before setting off for their classes. Almost immediately there was continues movement. David helped me bring my stuff to Wada 3, house 5R and gave me time to pick my corner before giving me a quick tour of campus and dropping me off at the cafeteria where I had my first meal at the school. There never seems to be a moment where nothing is happening or you have nothing to do, and though it is exhausting, I love it.
Everyone is so welcoming here. When you pass second years or first years you haven't met yet, you stop and hug and introduce yourself. Even though I've only been here for 1 week, I'm more comfortable with a lot of the people in my Wada than I got with most of my classmates that I knew for 2 years. People say hello with hugs and kisses and when someone tries to get your attention, they don't scream your name but put their hand on your arm. They are small gestures but they make this place feel like home. Be it taking a nap, watching a movie, cooking food (or eating it), you never have to do it alone. My roommates are great. Ankita and Rhea are second years from Singapore and India who are both very sweet and sing beautifully. My co-year roomie is Safieh from Bangladesh who is both crazy and hilarious and also acts as my alarm clock.
On the first night, I had a little Dutchie tea party with my second years Elize, Dagmar and Kathelijne and my co-years Jamie and Daan (though Daan couldn't come). Stroopwafels, dropjes, orange tea and speaking Dutch with people other than my parents was strange after so many years in Canada but very, very lovely. Literally all the Canadians on campus associate with 2 cultures or more! I am the only Canadian in my year which I wasn't expecting and it's strange being the only one. I have always been a part of the majority yet here in India at this international school I am a minority in a lot of situations.
The campus is beyond beautiful and bigger than the pictures make it out to be. The view is breathtaking and in my wada there is a tree house overlooking the valley. India is present everywhere on campus though in very subtle ways. My wada is perfect and I am so happy with the people I am sharing it with. Every night there are people hanging around in the common room, making noodles at 12 in the morning, playing Never Have I Ever with a jar of Nutella, or sitting outside in the warm air playing music. My average bedtime here has been around 2 - 3 am and then I take naps during the day. Now that classes have started I'm hoping to cut that back to maybe 1 am ... but what with birthdays at midnight, upcoming homework and chatting with people from all over the world, we'll see how that goes.
Since coming here I have been thrown into the mud at 6 AM, gone to the bathroom with a frog staring at me, started decorating my corner and finished unpacking, attended a buddy ball, danced to the ear-splitting beat of the Paud drummers, performed in a show and forgotten almost all the lyrics, started classes and met some incredible people. On the 4th night here, I walked almost 2 hours to get to a nearby village called Badas where I stayed the night with a beautiful family.
I love love love it here.
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