Pre-Adventure Preparation

Hello-

My name is Heidi Ender.  I am the single graduate student traveling to India for winterim.  I heard about this opportunity through the College of Business in early fall semester 2011.  The opportunity seemed too awesome to not take advantage of it.  During my undergrad years I never had the opportunity to study abroad, so I decided to seize the moment!

Since Ashley covered a lot about the how's and why's of studying abroad in India, I figured I should give a little run-down on what we have done so far to prepare for our trip.

Our group was first introduced to each other at the university study abroad orientation session on October 1, 2011.  On that date we scheduled our next five meetings by looking at everyone's work and school schedules to try to find the best fit everybody's calendar.  The orientation session was very interesting and FULL of beneficial information.  It not only introduced us to the program, but also gave us a brief overview of what we could expect out of the India Winterim program.

Our first individual group meeting occurred on October 13.  We had some assigned readings prior to this meeting that involved the history of India.  We discussed the readings and also were introduced to some simple Hindi phrases to learn.  Again, another information-filled meeting!

The next time our group met was on October 18th.  At this meeting we presented topics to the rest of the class that ranged from the monetary system and consumerism in India to the transportation system and business services sector.  It was interesting to not only learn about India, but get to know our fellow travelers through their presentations.  We again practiced our Hindi language.

November 2nd was our next meeting.  Dr. Yelkur brought her daughter Natasha with her to help us struggle through our Hindi memorization.  What an exceptional child she is...and her Hindi pronounciation humbled us.  The night ended with a screening of the Bollywood movie "Jab We Met" which was a romantic movie filled with music and dance numbers.  We even got to enjoy popcorn during the movie.

My favorite meeting was on December 2nd.  We met at Dr. Yelkur's home and were treated to an authentic Indian dinner.  Her husband is an excellent chef!  We had our oral Hindi exam, and then dined on the most wonderful food.  The night wrapped up with a discussion of what and how to pack for our upcoming trip, and then a little fun watching Indian music videos.

Our last meeting took place December 15th with a short meeting about last-minute arrangements that included turning in our final paperwork/passport photos to receive internet access on campus in India, and also discussion of dorm room and hotel room arrangements.

We are about a week away from departure and I can hardly wait!  I am not only excited to see India and absorb the culture, but also anxious to meet my Indian buddies.  I have purchased some gifts to present to them to share my American culture with them.

Please pray for our group as we enter into an amazing life-changing experience and for our safe return home to our families.