Paud Fire, Pune and Project Week

Last night, we all went out to the local village called Paud (it seemed like the population there of dogs is higher than that of humans!) for food which was nice but a bit of an anti-climax. A massive electrical fire started along the road from where we we were which caused havoc, so we had to leave fairly promptly. As we drove through today, we saw that about 4 shops had been completely burnt out, even though no one was injured. We went shopping in the city Pune to get various supplies and stuff, and I made my first batch of Rocky Road (yes, the famous recipe has made it to India already)!

Subject wise I'm still a bit stuck - I've decided to stick with Global Politics and am now really enjoying it, and I also decided to stick with spanish B and change my english. However, after going to 3 spanish classes and understanding absolutely nothing, I don't actually believe that was the right choice. I have spoken to my teacher because one girl is not taking anything this year then joining the beginners spanish course next year because the rest of the students will have caught up by then. However, she originally said my level was too high for this so I'm kind of stuck in the middle at the moment. I'm going to have a meeting with her tomorrow to discuss my options.

I also found out a few days ago which project week trip I am going on! Located in the mountainous northern state of Uttarakhand, Dodital is a pristine alpine lake at an altitude of 3100 m above sea level. This project week will take us on an expedition to Dodital and beyond. The trek to Dodital is a steady uphill climb that takes us through dense forests and high meadows.  After Dodital, we will be climbing further to the mountain pass at Darwa Top, at 3800m above MSL. The climb to Darwa Top is steep but offers stunning views of the Himalayas at the top. I looked up some photos on the internet, and this is what I found: 

This trip will be happening in October and I will be going with 2 other teachers and a group of around 14 other students. It will take about 24 hours to travel to our starting point which includes a few buses and trains so that will be fun too. 

Home Stay and Subjects

This was meant to be posted 2 nights ago, but it didn't actually send so it didn't happen yesterday if that makes any sense...

Rats. I really REALLY dislike rats. Last night we went on a home stay with locals in the village. We were paired up with a second year (I was with Trisha from India) and walked to various villages along our route. The people were lovely and the food was amazing (better than college food!), however I don't think I slept at all. There must have been about 10 rats, just running up and down the wooden beams above our bed (a table) and dropping onto the metal pans in the opposite corner of the room. At one point as I was just dosing off, one of them knocked one of the pans off and I woke up again, and just watched them for about 4 hours straight. I also forgot to bring mosquito repellent so literally got eaten alive. 

Today, I have academic interviews where I will decide which subjects I want to try out and I will get the results of a (extremely hard) maths test we did which will pretty much decide which level of maths I will be doing. At the moment, I'm thinking about global politics, english & performance, maths, biology, chemistry and spanish, however i'm not sure about global politics yet. 

I'M HERE

I'VE ARRIVED!!! We landed at around 11 yesterday in Mumbai and met up with a few second years in the airport. They took us to a bus which was going to drive us to the school, and as soon as I walked outside I immediately felt the heat! It was so humid in Mumbai, and even worse inside the bus. There wasn't enough room for all our luggage on the top of it, so some went on the back 4 seats meaning the second years had to sit on the bags. We left the airport around 1 and arrived on campus at 6:30, with a few police checks on the way! The air is much less humid out here which is nice, however there are loads of crabs on campus! Like crabs that you may find by the sea….weird. 

Me and Smirthy from India ^

I met my room mates who are from USA, Israel and India. They are all really cool, as are my second years. I haven't yet met my "buddy" however I'm sure I will find out who they are soon. I felt very homesick last night as I was putting up photos around my room and unpacking, however meeting so many new people and getting involved made me feel better. Today, I've had a medical check, set up the internet on my laptop, had photos taken and just basically done loads of admin! Everyone is kind of walking around aimlessly as no one has been told what/when to do things! I've met so many people whose names I have already forgotten, and have walked back and forth to my room collecting paperwork/dropping off things I don't need. 

I've decorated my area of my room with photos and my flags of Devon and UK which has made it feel a lot more homely! Thank you so much to Lucy/Clare for the bunting and stuff and to Charlotte/Chris for all the amazing photos. It's really made my corner of the room have a bit more character, and less like a prison cell!!

In a few days time, I'm going to be going on a "home stay" where basically you stay with a local family in the village…I'm excited for that but also a little scared as I speak no Hindi!

I'm going to play basketball now with a bunch of other first years, before our "wada dessert". 

Namaste!