After much thought, I have decided to bring my trip to an end! I will be returning to the US next month (in April).
Though the plan was initially to stay for 2 years, it turned out being much harder living here than I expected. Though I had been to Europe, both Western and Eastern, I was not prepared for how foreign a place I was coming to. Not only is there a different language, there is a different set of ideas and values behind it, (as well as a new alphabet, and new sounds - there's 4 different t's and 4 different d's) and I didn't pick up as quickly as I had thought I would.
Beyond the broad differences in culture, the specific place in India in which we are living is a difficult place. There are no young educated people here. If they are lucky enough to be educated, they flee. There are no supermarkets (there are places they CALL supermarkets, but they have only a little more variety than the small stores). There is nothing to do, not even any parks or sidewalks for taking a walk. It is hard to get anywhere as the roads inside and out of town are all small and of poor quality, and distances become magnified. Going 200km isn't something you can do before breakfast - it takes all morning.
The result has been crushing isolation and boredom, and there is nothing I look forward to in my day to day life. So in the interest of my happiness and mental health, I am coming back!
Though the plan was initially to stay for 2 years, it turned out being much harder living here than I expected. Though I had been to Europe, both Western and Eastern, I was not prepared for how foreign a place I was coming to. Not only is there a different language, there is a different set of ideas and values behind it, (as well as a new alphabet, and new sounds - there's 4 different t's and 4 different d's) and I didn't pick up as quickly as I had thought I would.
Beyond the broad differences in culture, the specific place in India in which we are living is a difficult place. There are no young educated people here. If they are lucky enough to be educated, they flee. There are no supermarkets (there are places they CALL supermarkets, but they have only a little more variety than the small stores). There is nothing to do, not even any parks or sidewalks for taking a walk. It is hard to get anywhere as the roads inside and out of town are all small and of poor quality, and distances become magnified. Going 200km isn't something you can do before breakfast - it takes all morning.
The result has been crushing isolation and boredom, and there is nothing I look forward to in my day to day life. So in the interest of my happiness and mental health, I am coming back!
Hey I have enjoyed your blog posts and I can understand what its like to be somewhere where you can't have a meaningful conversation with anyone because of the language barrier. Have a safe journey back! Jazzie