First Impressions of India - October 17th, 2016

Alexis

नमस्ते मैं एलेक्स हूँ और मैं एक हिन्दी की विद्यार्थी हूँ। Hello, I’m Alexis and I am a Hindi student. I’m from Chicago, Illinois. I’m planning on using the skills I obtain from this year to communicate more clearly within my home community. I hope to study critical languages for the rest of my life. Next year I am planning on going into international relations at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Any form of significant travel will likely change you dramatically, and that has been very true during my exchange in India. Being here and learning about a completely different culture has deeply encouraged my desire to learn even more about the world. I hope that as I continue through my experience I will continue to grow as a person and continue to delve into a deeper level of self-understanding and self-actualization.

Nicole

My name is Nicole and I am participating in NSLI-Y Hindi for my senior year in high school. I was born in Columbus, Ohio but now call New Jersey home. Because of my Greek heritage and love for community service, I participated in a month- long summer program in Greece after my sophomore year with the American Farm School. There, I lived with a host family, helped do construction and farm work in my host family's village, and learned more about Greek culture. After this trip, I developed a passion for foreign affairs and history. I was actually searching for summer abroad programs to do after my junior year when I found the NSLI-Y academic year program. I was so excited that I could fully immerse in a new culture and learn the language. I chose the Hindi program because I had found a series of articles describing India's multilingual and multi-religious society that fascinated me. Now that I am here, I can confidently say that India's culture is very different, but it has also taught me valuable life skills that I could've never learned in a classroom.

Zoe

Hi! My name is Zoe Moskowitz. I am 16 years old and I'm from Burlington, Vermont. I am currently a Junior in high school and I love sports, traveling, and trying new things. I enjoy soccer, swimming, softball, and skiing. I am also learning how to dance, as well as play cricket and squash in India. I am interested in international relations and development. I plan to do humanitarian aid work, possibly in a refugee camp, in the future.

I have been interested in India and Hinduism since middle school, when I read a fun book series on it called, 'Tiger's Curse'. For my entire life I have wanted to learn another language and I knew the only way to truly grasp one was through immersion. I love meeting new people and creating deeper connections with them through communicating in their native language. I am very excited to be bilingual and I hope to continue learning languages throughout my life.

Vyom

My name is Vyom. My association with AFS and the sponsored programs supported by ECA has been long drawn. From being a YES Alumni who went to the US from India in 2010-11, to being a volunteer with AFS for over 5 years and now a staff member at the AFS India office. As staff at the AFS India office, I work with the students who come to India on sponsored programs from the US. Working with these students who come on these programs to India has been a brilliant learning experience. It has helped me understand my own culture and the people in India more. My long driven association with AFS has helped me shape who I am today, and I only look forward in taking these experiences to the next level.