After a
long and bumpy night on the train to Heranjalu, we awoke to the Indian sun
shining through the windows. Everyone
was ready to start the day. At around
mid-day we got off the train at Baindur station, and were greeted by a fleet of yellow
and green motorized rickshaws. From
there we drove along a conservatively paved road to the elementary school and
were warmly welcomed with a banner, a group of singing schoolgirls, and many
bouquets of flowers. After countless group photos and fresh coconut water, we
walked further in Heranjalu to Krishna’s house. There, we had our first
authentic home cooked utensil-free meal.
Then came
the moment we’d all been waiting for: Homestays. We received our groups and all
went our separate ways. Each group had very different experiences, but by the
end, everyone got more comfortable living in their new homes. After spending
two hours in our homestays, we regrouped at Krishna’s house and went on a walk
around the village. As we hiked through the peanut fields, we talked to our
hosts and learned more about them as they learned more about us. For the final
time today, we met back at Krishna’s house to talk about our experiences in our
homestays and reflect on our days as a whole.
Everyone
agreed that the first couple of hours in our homestays felt foreign and
slightly uncomfortable. After attempting to try to find common ground, either
by playing games or helping out around the house, we all managed to start to
connect with our new families. Showing interest in the local culture, like
trying to speak Kannada, really made the process of adjusting to our new homes
way easier. Our hosts insist that we always eat more food, and even if we’re
full, it’s hard to say no. It feels slightly uncomfortable taking one of the
family member’s room, but the hosts are very excited to have us there, the first foreign students to visit the village.
Zoe and Jacob
