(my flight map from Texas to Dubai--15 hours!)
It has been an amazing week. For me, our first few days here felt like one incredibly long day. I left home Wednesday morning, and (between long flights, a long layover, and the time difference) arrived on Friday morning. I managed to stay awake for most some of Friday and the weekend was so jam packed full of activities that my nap Friday was the only one I have had!
(in class before a group meeting)
On Monday we started classes, and they have been truly fantastic. I feel incredibly lucky to be here and have the opportunity to participate in such a great program. I had long been looking forward to our gender course, since I have a pre-existing interest, and it has not disappointed in the slightest. Our professor, Dr. Shanthi, speaks with such passion! It is a great experience to have coursework here relate directly to what I learned in my classes back at Cornell. I am drawing so many parallels between the gender issues in India and the United States; it is incredible to discover how similar the issues are in the two countries.
I am really looking forward to continuing our classes and eventually heading to my project site in Hyderabad. It is such a beautiful feeling to realize that I am halfway around the world from my country, and yet there are so many parallels between the two cultures and so many universal aspects of the human experience. I can't wait to see what I learn next.
