by Anneka Hyde

Highlights

On such a long and intense trip it’s hard to decide what the highlights were. Do I say seeing the Taj Mahal? Or meeting the prince of Udaipur? Attending the Pacific shinning? No. Sometimes it’s the little things that stand out the most. These are my two highlights.

1) My go-to highlight

Another student and I had spent the afternoon walking through the lakeside streets of Udaipur, browsing the stalls and shops. We had just sat down at a covered rooftop restaurant right on the edge of the lake. By then it had gotten dark and so we had a beautiful view of the castle and the city across the lake with lights, music, and architecture, all reflecting on the lake’s surface. Across the lake from us, a fire ceremony was about to start. The city was still in full swing with buyers and sellers bartering, rickshaws and motorcycle sounds echoing through the streets, and the other customers in the restaurant bantering.

Chaos, vibrancy, and life were the setting for when, for the first time we had been in India, it started raining. And I mean pouring, pelting rain. Within seconds, Udaipur’s power was out, our 7^th major power cut on the trip.  

With a wall of water crashing towards the surface of the lake only half a meter away, lightning lit the sky up and provided short moments of visibility while the thunder shook the buildings. Pitch-black darkness had descended onto the city along with a heavy layer of silence and peace. The city was now quiet, calm and at ease, such a severe change and deep vibrational adjustment that after a month and a half, this is my most profound experience. Slowly, after some time, one by one, we watched the buildings across the lake get power and turn on their lights. The city was not the same that evening. The streets were empty and quiet, the people were slow and sleepy. It was almost like someone dimmed the volume and brightness of Udaipur. And then I ordered a mad good chicken Biryani.

2) Rishikesh, the almighty Mother Ganga, and husband fishing

It was our last night in Rishikesh, second to last night overall, and we had slowly collected a selection of marigold wreaths from places we had visited in the last day and from a letting go/fire ritual we had just returned from. A handful of us gathered up our and others’ wreaths and stumbled down the hill in the dark towards Mother Ganga (Ganges River). After winding our way through the sleeping cows, we reached the sandy riverbank, a peaceful oasis from the surrounding town. With the evening chill nipping our fingers, we threw the wreaths into the river and watched as they slowly floated into the dark and out of our sight. Amongst hushed conversations and laughter, I teased the others that we were going to find love, as in Slavic culture, there is a celebration where young ladies make wreaths and then throw them into the water, and whoever picks up the wreath is their true love. A moment of two cultures and traditions that I hadn’t anticipated to overlap, but we said our goodbyes to the flowers, lost love, sleeping cows, and Mother Ganga, and started the hike up the hill back to our empty beds.

3) It’ll be short, I promise 😉

We walked a short trail along the Ganges River, the path followed the river and winded through a small rural settlement and rice fields, it was utterly beautiful and peaceful. The walk was about an hour and the whole time a dog walked along with us, I thought he was the guide’s dog as he would run ahead and then wait for us and do rounds for love and affection. But no, the guide said he was a stray or ‘trail dog’. Between the gorgeous views and charming pooch, I just had to sneak this highlight in.

Biggest challenge

My biggest challenge was reverse culture shock. I have been away from home before and reverse culture shock is no stranger; I get it when I go home, seeing my family, friends and community moving and changing without me, but I have never had it for NZ overall. I had been mentally preparing to say goodbye to the 20 or so people I had been living extremely closely with but I was wholly unprepared for the subtle and unnoticed change within myself. India had desensitised me to chaos, noise and the bustle of a mega country, my inner tolerance level had lowered and adjusted to India’s environment, so then when I returned, I felt out of place. NZ was quiet, slow and relaxed, I wanted speed and vibrancy, something new and different. With these feelings in mind, I had two options: get the hell outta Hamilton (more so NZ) or settle back into my old life. I will let you know I’m writing this from my living room in Hamy-hole – I settled, for now. Some of the other students straight up left NZ looking for a change and faster pace of life and a couple of others, me included, are biting at the bit for more than NZ can offer.

The future

From my time in India, I have learned that I am able to adjust and fit into another country and culture that is foreign to me. I know that if I wanted to or if there were future opportunities, I would be capable of moving and living in India and possibly others parts of the world I hadn’t previously considered. Being in India has also made me consider and re-prioritise connecting with my roots and learning more about my culture and language. I hadn’t expected this at all and almost did a 180 on my future plans and goals. Before the trip, I was interested in overseas exchange and experiences (hence, why I applied in the first place) but as mentioned previously, I am now in the process of very seriously looking into overseas experiences while I’m still in university as I’m biting at the bit to follow through with my new priorities (that my bank account doesn’t agree with) but we’ll see. Surely, worst case I can swim over 😉