On Saturday, I went to National Museum, New Delhi. This was my second trip into Delhi and it was just as nice as the first trip! I went with Fine Arts students from my school and there were about 20 of us including the 2 teachers. It was about 30-45 minutes away from the school and the entire drive was a little annoying because my bus driver has an obsession with honking his horn at every small little thing...like I realize that people honk here for communication but there is definitely a point where you can go overboard and he has reached that point haha. Anyways, once we got there, we waited until 10am which is opening time and walked in. To my surprise and disappointment, there was NO AC!!!!! I would think that a museum as nice as that one would at least have some ceiling fans or something but nope. It was not a huge issue, just caught me off guard. We started our tour with a tour guide who was definitely not impressed with the lack of knowledge we possessed about Indian artwork. Everyone I talked to agreed with me in saying that she was not a great tour guide. I understand it was an educational trip but there is only so much we could have known before coming and it is kind of in her job description to give us information about the art. Despite that, we ended up having a lot of fun and I learned a lot. The museum is enormous and if you ever go I would definitely limit yourself to 3 or 4 galleries maximum because it gets really tiring if you are not an art fanatic. I saw art from the Harappan civilization all the way up to maritime artwork. It is so interesting to me to learn about Indian culture because it is soooooo much older than that of the US. It is way more than you can even begin to understand in one day. In that sense, I was definitely overwhelmed, but I enjoyed the artwork especially after the tour guide left and I could just walk around and read the notecards by the exhibits. The tour guide was a nice enough person but she talked mostly in hindi so I did not understand most of what she said and she, like I mentioned earlier, was not too fond of our group and our apparent lack of knowledge haha. One interesting fact I will share with you is that if you ever see Buddhist art, if it came before the reign of Kanishka, he will only be shown in the form of symbols and not human because it was prohibited to show him as a human before Kanishka. Before we left, we stopped in the canteen (for future reference canteen is sort of like a cafeteria) and I bought a soda for 10 rupees (64 rupees in 1 USD). Before getting on the bus I splurged and got an ice cream for 40 rupees haha. I love ice cream and it is so readily available here I cannot help but buy some. It tastes even nicer because it is so hot and humid here. Once I got back to the school, I sat in class for about 45 minutes and had a nice conversation with everyone in that class. I showed them pictures of my life in the US and then they started talking in hindi but that was fine because I could still laugh along with their gestures and enactments. I expected to go home after school but when my host dad picked us up we went straight to the mall! I dont really know how anyone ever knows what plans we have in my host family but it is kinda nice to live not knowing what you are doing next! It is something I am slowly getting used to. At the mall I bought 2 outfits. I will have to find a less pricy place because I spent $75 USD on those 2 outfits and from what I have heard you can get clothes (or anything really) for MUCH cheaper in India. I, of course, do not regret spending the money because I would never get these clothes in the US, but my wallet will be empty ¼ the way through my exchange if I shop like that all the time. Just when I thought my day could not get any more eventful, I came home and found that I was invited to go to a birthday party the next day at McKenna’s host family’s house. I will be wearing the dress I bought to the part because the dress code is black and white. Even though I would never wear a dress to a b-day party in the US, it is the only black and white outfit I have that would look nice. Plus, it’s nice and airy so it will feel good in the heat. Tomorrow marks 275 days left before my end of stay orientation and I have no idea where the time is going. I swear it was JUST at 300 days. I think that the timing in India is definitely going to constantly shock me because I know my time here is always getting smaller. To be clear, I do not have a countdown in celebration of reaching the end and getting to come home but more so I am reminded that I should make the most of every single day here. Next weekend is Raksha Bandhan and the weekend after that I will have a party to celebrate independence day and Janmashtami. I am sure I will have a lot to share from those experiences and like always, they will go by too fast. As for now, I am off to make more lasting memories
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AuthorNamaste! Mera naam Anna hai! Hi! my name is Anna. Please enjoy reading about my experience as a high school junior in India and ask any questions you may have! Archives
June 2019
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