New Country, New You

Hindi words of the week:

यात्रा Yaatra (yaa-th-ruh) – Travel

अहसास Ahsaas (eh-sauce) ? – Epiphany/realization

Hey guys, I hope your first couple of months this semester have been going well. Mine have been alright, definitely got some things that I could improve on but that’s another discussion for a different day, haha. Recently I was talking to a friend about studying abroad. This friend happens to be going to the university I attended in India and so we were discussing the area and the people, etc.

When I lived in India I used to have small platoon of monkeys that would occasionally raid my balcony garden in the early hours of the evening. I never got to take pictures of them because I used to leave my phone in my bedroom and my balcony was not near by but one time I managed to get a few pictures of one of the babies while he raced to catch up to the adults.

I lived near a valley and during the monsoon season when there were thunderstorms I tried taking pictures with my phone. Sometimes they lit the valley up like the sun for a split-second. The second picture is actually a screenshot from the video my friend took during the same storm and it was just after the lighting that you see in the first picture. They’re nothing special but you can easily appreciate just how different the environment is, that alone can open your mind to new ideas.

Sunrises in the area were beautiful, similar to the ones here and yet so different at the same time. Eventually the conversation naturally shifted, as it often does when you’re hanging out with someone on your wavelength, to the benefits of studying abroad. I can definitely say I am who I am because of the experiences I had while studying in another country. While study abroad programs are not exactly the same thing, as they are far shorter in duration, they still offer many of the same opportunities to learn.

As long as one is conscious enough to take advantage of those opportunities that are presented it is possible to have entirely new and unique experiences. One of the great things about our college is that it actually has a study abroad program! Students here at Montgomery College can actually join the study abroad program for a semester or a whole year. You can learn about the eligibility requirements here, the short-term programs here, long-term programs here. The main page of the study abroad program can be accessed via this link and has the previously mentioned links easily displayed and accessible. If you end up going to India, let me know! Maybe I can tell you some good places to eat 😉 have a good one Raptors, until next week.