Sunsets from Internet Hill.

Let me introduce you to Internet Hill. A hill with no internet.

Even though it is technically off-Campus, if you ask anyone what is the best place to see the sunset, contemplate the valley, think, be alone, reflect on life...they will send you to Internet Hill.

The first time I was there, was the day I arrived in MUWCI (I hadn't eaten or taken a shower in three days and yes, I was wearing the wrong shoes), but I was so impressed, that I promised myself I would go back soon...and then I forgot about it. Until last Sunday.

Even though people usually go to Internet Hill in groups, I decided to go alone (because I am a strong independent woman..!). Never in my life have I walked faster. A hike that usually takes about 30 minutes (at least for couch potatoes like myself), took 11. All because I wanted to see the sun set. And I was not disappointed.

Life never ceases to amaze me. Keep rocking, Internet Hill.

Life now.

I have been writing a lot about all the things that happen and how they have made me feel, but I haven't written about the "ordinary" stuff that also happens here from time to time, so this post will be dedicated to that.

Like I've said before, life on Campus is extremely intense, not only on an academic level, but also socially and emotionally. Sometimes a lot of things (and people) happen on very little time, and it is exhausting, but I truly love being here. 

What has surprised me the most so far is the academic environment. According to me, my Mexican high school was a place that gave me a lot of freedom and in which I had a bunch of opportunities to develop as a student and as a person. Then I arrived in MUWCI and well, I'm not sure if it is the fact that we have people from so many different places living all together and therefore we have a greater tolerance to things (and with it, more freedom)...but over here, I actually feel free.

For starters, I have a lot of freedom to choose my subjects and give them the focus that I believe is better. That is something that IB Students in my Mexican high school couldn't do. Since I want to major in Art History, I chose to focus more in Humanities and right now I'm taking Spanish Lit, English Lit, History and Visual Arts along with Biology and Math Studies. 

I am in love with every single one of my choices. It feels so weird to get to class and say "Oh, I like this one", and then go to the next class and say "Oh, I love this one too". It's a feeling that I'd never had before. Doing homework doesn't even bother me, although homework here is an entirely different story, I must say. Back in Mexico, I was used to having my subjects with one day in-between, for example: I would have Maths on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and History on Tuesday and Thursday. That gave me two days to do homework. Over here, there is no such thing as "The Days of The Week". Obviously, on Saturday and Sunday I am free to do whatever I want, but from Monday to Friday, my days are counted as Day 1, Day 2...until Day 7. Thanks to that, I have almost all my subjects every day, although we always rest from one subject each day. It's a complex system, but it works wonders because my days never look the same, so it is harder to fall into a routine and get bored even though I have homework every evening.

Classrooms are a whole different thing. We have our lessons in the Academic Quarter or AQ. The AQ is actually shaped like a circle, but with classrooms. Every classroom has a window, which opens into an individual stone-terrace, and every classroom is different. In those classrooms in which we have tables, we sit down in a half-circle, so we can all see each other and conversation flows easily. My Spanish Lit classroom has mattresses right in the middle and tables on the sides. My English Lit classroom (my favourite) has rugs and cushions, so I can either sit or lie down. When we enter that  classroom, we take off our shoes (in part because of cultural sensitivity and respect, but mostly because it is fun and comfy) & half the time, one of the school's doggies is taking class with us.

Teachers fervently believe that in order for us to learn correctly, it's necessary that we're comfortable, so they let us eat, drink and talk when we believe we need a break. I can also stand up and walk around my classroom, stretch, lie down or do whatever I have to do in order to be okay. Back in Mexico, I would have never been allowed to sit on the floor because sometimes, when we put our feet up in the chair, we were asked to "Sit properly". 

My Biology Class (and all the other sciences: Physics, Chemistry & Environmental Studies) are taken on a separate building where we have the Labs. These sort of look like the ones we have back home, although it feels great to know that I can use the labs anytime I want.

Group 6 lessons (Visual Arts, Film, Drama & Dance) are taken in another building, the prettiest of all. My Art classroom is full of material, paper, canvas, sculptures...it is a true artists' studio. We have one whole wall of glass, and the prettiest view in the whole school. Right in the middle we have our work tables and it always smells like paint and inspiration.

Every afternoon some people walk up Internet Hill (the neighbouring hill), others go down to Paud (our nearest big village). Some more go all the way down to Pune (mostly during weekends, though). Some people run downhill and then back uphill for fun. Others stay on Campus and go to the Tree House or the Temple to relax. Someone is always cooking pasta (or ramen) in the Common Room while someone sings & plays the guitar and seventeen other people try to do homework.

I wanted to try and explain that we also have normal days here in MUWCI, but the truth is I would be lying if I said so. Life here is never normal and things aren't simply ordinary. The fact that I can leave home thirty seconds before class and know that I'm still going to make it, isn't normal. It also isn't normal to go to school barefoot, in my PJs, with rain falling over my head, skipping puddles and being careful not to slip. It isn't normal to go to my Advisor's home and drink hot cocoa, or bake a cake at my teacher's place at midnight, or organize a Latino Dinner at my Lit Teacher's home. It isn't normal to be sick and have my roomies make me tea and bring me the  Forbidden Oreos to the Med Center. 

And just like things are not ordinary, people aren't ordinary either. In my other school, people would always be surprised (and a little judgmental) that I used to wear long skirts, feather earrings and "hippie pants" to school. Over here we have no such thing as dressing "normal" because everyone develops their own, unique style. I can be wearing the weirdest things and people won't even blink. A few days ago, I heard someone in the cafeteria say that they didn't know if that was good or bad because the people who used to be weird got to MUWCI and became plain eccentric. True, very true.

From left to right: Dipika (Texas/India) my roommate, Kayleigh (Wales) my front door neighbour, Srishti (Texas/India) my upstairs neighbour, Pietro (Costa Rica) who lives one house down & Yael (Israel) also my upstairs neighbour.

I think at some point life here calms down a bit. Next month when all the Integration Activities are over, my afternoon lessons (extracurriculars) will have a set time and I will know a bit more about how my life is going to work. Weekends will be completely free and I will be posting in the blog more often. Meanwhile, I have no other option but to enjoy the chaos that is life now.

India like a local.

Last weekend, MUWCI organized several activities for us newcomers. The aim was for us to bond and get to know more places around Campus. Some of my classmates went for a hike on Mt. Wilko or the Grand Canyon, while others went on a cultural visit to a fort nearby, and the rest of us were guests on some of the closest villages.

This is my adventure.

First, we were all separated into groups depending on the village we were going to. The closest village was about 15 minutes away on foot, and the farthest one was about an hour away. Some of the village kids came to pick us up from MUWCI and we all walked all the way back to their homes. I, along with one Finn, one Canadian and one Indian, went to the closest village.

It took us about a half hour to get to the village because we stopped at Krishna's Temple first for a few minutes, but we still arrived pretty early. In fact, Deepali and Pratiksha --our hostesses, showed us around for a bit, and told us all about the several flowers and plants that they have around, including basil, to which they pray because of its healing properties.

Once we had visited their school, their temple and some of their neighbours (who were all extremely nice to us), we all went back to Deepali's to get mehndi (henna) tattoos. Both girls, Pratiksha and Deepali, are such artists!

Afterwards, the Finnish and the Canadian girls went to Pratiksha's while my Indian companion and I ate dinner with Deepali's family. Her mom and her grandma prepared the most delicious Indian food I have ever tried, although it was also very spicy (this coming from a Mexican girl who's candy is pretty much chili powder)! In India, one of the best ways to show respect and appreciation towards your guests is by feeding them, so every time our plates were close to empty, someone would serve more rice or hand out more chapati. This made it all feel like home again. Oh Mexico, I miss you so much.

A little while later, Deepali and her grandma took out some rugs. Deepali, her grandma, my Indian second-year and I, all slept there while Deepali's brothers used the sofas next to us. Before going on the Homestays, I had heard some stories about people who had had to sleep next to the cows last year, or had to endure mice climbing on the walls. Truth be told, I had a good night's sleep. I actually slept through the waking call of the rooster at 4 am and then again at 5. 

I woke up just in time to take the first chai of the day and have the last talk with Deepali and her family, who invited us to come back soon. My hostesses even came along to hug us goodbye from their village, and they waved at us while we walked back to MUWCI, skipping through the puddles and enjoying the green, green landscape of India.

Even though my family didn't speak English and I (of course) don't speak hindi (yet!), my experience wasn't uncomfortable or bad at all. This is the first time that I actually sit down to eat with someone and all we can do is smile and make hand gestures. It is actually so much fun, and I learned a lot from it. 

I learned how to put my hands together as if on prayer every time I say Namaste. I learned that Dhanyavad and Sukriya have the same meaning (thank you), but a smile is just as effective. I am finally getting used to moving to one side of the road every time I hear a honk without having to turn back or run like mad. I am finally learning how to nod like an Indian, although I feel funny every time I do it. The only thing I regret is wearing tennis shoes because it took me hours to put them back on every time I got out of a house.

Being alive feels great. Being alive and having the chance to experience the magic of this country and its people feels even better. Mexico and India have a lot more in common than what some people think.

Dhanyavad Deepali & Pratiksha!

Ganesh Chaturthi: Experiencing Hindu religion.

The day before yesterday was a very happy day for us inhabitants of the hill. 

For the past ten days, in mostly every home which practices the Hindu religion and in our school, we've had an idol of Lord Ganesh around. In fact, I believe children in schools have had holiday breaks in order for them to celebrate this God properly. 

For those of you who don't know, Lord Ganesh is the God of beginnings, the representation of learning & wisdom, and the remover of obstacles. During the first ten days in which he comes into a house, he is prayed to twice a day. These prayers are called Aarti. 

The day before yesterday was the final day, his birthday. Naturally, the celebrations were immensely happy! 

For starters, all of us in MUWCI got drenched in coloured powder to the rhythm of some cheery Indian music. Since we are having monsoon season right now, rain also started falling sometime along the way, and from then it just got better. 

We were asked to join in the final prayer to the God and personally, this has been the one time in my life in which I think I have felt the true meaning of prayer. You see, Hindu prayers are happy. People chant and clap faster and faster and faster every time while they hold a small fire in front of the God. Later, that fire is passed around the people, who warm their hands in it for a couple of seconds and then touch their eyes and forehead before joining their hands in a final prayer. 

The reason I'm saying that I understood the meaning of prayer is that I was raised a Catholic. Although in this moment of my life I don't consider myself part of a religious group, I went to church when I was younger and I was used to praying as a form of asking or thanking the Lord for something, but always in a somewhat grim, somber way. Yesterday though, when I saw the people clapping and chanting for their God, it just dawned on me that we were all vibrating in the same frequency in that very moment. Even if it was just for a bit, we were all...together, in a sense. 

By this I don't mean that Catholic prayers are wrong or "less good", but only that maybe my whole praying experience in the Catholic religion would have been different if I had understood this from the beginning. I know some people do. 

Anyway, back to the festivities. 

Lastly, the God is carried in a truck all the way down the hill and to the river, in which he will be submerged. In our case, we all walked in front of the truck dancing to the music, enjoying the rain & from time to time trying to join in the shouts of the people: 

" Ganpati Bappa Morya!"

*Photos taken by Tatsuya Yokota*  

The Rhythm of India

Last night, MUWCI hosted a small concert & workshop on Tabla & Sitar, two of the most popular Indian music instruments. There was no way I was going to miss out on listening to these, and now I  want to share a little bit of it with you.

The Tabla is a set of two drums (you can see them on the left side of the video). Each part of the hand (that is, every finger) produces a different sound and represents a different note. The Sitar is the giant string instrument on the right, which produces the most beautiful sounds that are so characteristic of Indian music. 

Of course, my one minute video doesn't do justice to the actual beauty of the melody. One of my roomies --Dipika (my Indian/American co-year) mentioned that Indian music "vibrates through you". 

Truth be told, I can't think of a better way to describe it. 

Mumbai, Pune & everything in between...

Arriving in India is fantastic & scary, unexpected and adventurous, simple yet exhilarating. It is a greater experience than what can be described in a sentence or even in a single post. 

I finally arrived in Mumbai on August 24th after almost two days of traveling. After walking around Charles de Gaulle for 7 hours and freaking out at Mumbai Airport because my bags were the last to come out at baggage claim, it kind of felt good to have arrived at my final destination: India. 

The best streets of Mumbai are about as nice as the worst parts of Mexico City --which is my only point of comparison. I guess what I mean is, the clash between the people who are well-off and the ones that aren't, is pretty big. You will see incredible ten-story buildings next to slums and advertisements for private villas & condos in the dirtiest of streets. 

Driving through India is a unique experience. Some people say that if you can drive through Mexico City, you can drive anywhere --which is a lie. In India, drivers keep a distance of less than 1cm between each other, and honking here has a whole different meaning, which I have yet to decipher. 

Something really weird about India, is that people don't mind being barefoot at all. In fact, most rickshaw drivers go barefoot and even people walking on the streets don't always have to be wearing shoes. Even at school, shoes are totally optional and when we go into most classrooms, everyone leaves their shoes at the door. Isn't life awesome?

Oh, and by the way, during the 5 seconds I was in Mumbai, I saw one cow crossing the street (not one thousand, as everyone back home seems to think...) and only one girl begging for money, which is way less than the 5+ guys asking to clean your window in any given street of Mexico. 

When I got picked up at the airport, I rode with two French guys (one boy & one girl) who are also studying their first year in MUWCI. I mention this because Antoine (the French boy) is blond, so we got a lot of stares along the way. People in India like to stare, and even when you make eye contact with them to let them know that you're not comfortable with it, they won't turn away. It's just India, man. 

Getting to school took about 3 hours of bumpy roads and the most amazing views after leaving the big city. Everything around us is green & so, so alive. 

Being at school is different though, it sort of feels like being on extended summer camp. Since the atmosphere is completely international, most of the time it doesn't even feel like I'm in India. Except for the weather, which is completely different from home, but not bad at all. Right now, we are having monsoon season (which is basically just continuous rain) and even though it is cloudy all day long, actual rain is on and off on the hill (but always fun!). 

On my very first hour on Campus, I got to tour around the school (it's huge!) and I accidentally ended up joining about 20 people who were climbing Internet Hill (the hill right next door to the school, which ironically, has no internet access). I had the wrong shoes --of course, but I didn't mind the long walk because the views are breathtaking. It is still hard to believe the amount of good stuff that is going on in my life right now.

The rest of my week was packed with Orientation Activities, which mostly meant running up and down the school, getting used to having muddy feet all the time, trying to get everyone's names right (it is impossible...) and being so tired by the end of the day, that it truly makes me wonder how my body can resist so much. 

The food here in MUWCI is not as bad as everyone has made it seem. It's actually pretty decent. On Sundays we have amazing brunch. As for the rest of the week, I almost never know what I'm eating, but most of the time it's tasty enough. Life is good, so good. 

As for my room, I got to live in the "Fancy Wada".  A Wada is a community, kind of like a cluster of homes. I live in Wada 5, House A4. I share my room with an incredibly funny Indian second year, an Indian/American co-year who is probably the sweetest person I have met in my life & a beautiful Danish co-year. They are all so lovely & helpful, it's unbelievable. I sometimes can't believe I am allowed so much happiness in such a short amount of time, after all, I've only been here a week! 

Last Thursday we had a trip to Pune, which is the closest big city to the school. It's about a two hour drive, and I'd say completely worth it. Pune may not be traditionally beautiful, you know? It's not like Florence or Paris where you instantly fall in love, but rather, it requires some getting used to. Again, the clash between rich and poor is so big! However, it's great to know that we do have McDonalds, Pepe Jeans London, The Body Shop, Starbucks and pretty much everything else we have back home. 

It's impossible to try and explain everything that has happened in the last week. I suppose for now it is enough to say that I can't believe I'm so happy. As most of you know, my birthday was just last week and even though it was my third day here, I got two cakes at midnight, a bunch of notes, hugs & congrats...I pretty much celebrated my birthday for two days in a row. I feel so loved.

Life has been pretty intense, but the truth is, very few times have I felt more excited. And I definitely have never felt more like myself. Coming to MUWCI was a great decision.

Finally, you will excuse the lack of photos & the messed up, random structure of this post, but my recent travels have had a lot more to do with getting acquainted to new places & people, and I don't even think I have the energy or the willpower to try and correct this to perfection. I do promise to post some photos soon and give a more detailed account of my life in later posts.

Thanks so much for reading.

-F