Potato Chips

I have found potato chips. It is wonderful! Something here, which is exactly the same at home. It makes me quite happy. My host family finds it funny that I like the chips so much. They are buying them for me and giving me some to keep in my room. It is funny. But really, it is quite nice having something familiar here.
Everything is so different. The traffic is intense. There are lanes painted but nobody uses them. There are no stop signs, traffic lights, cross walks, speed limits, or seat belts. I can't tell you how many times already I've reached for a seat belt when I sit down only to find nothing there. There are seat belts in the front seats but there might as well not be, since no one uses them. They drive on the opposite side of the road which is very disorienting for me. I almost got hit (again) yesterday because of it. I was crossing the street with the group and I guess we were all looking the wrong way because we had to scramble back to the side of the road or get hit by a bright yellow auto rickshaw.
The money is quite different too. About forty Indian Rupees equals one American Dollar. But you can but things that would cost a dollar in the USA for about five rupees here. I was with my host mother and she was buying some food that would be about fifteen to twenty dollars in the USA but it was about forty rupees here. Only one dollar! I understand now why SYA only told us to bring one hundred and fifty in cash, otherwise you would have a fortune in rupees!
I went to the fish market today with my host father and his friends. It was very interesting. I watched a sting ray being cut apart. Something I doubt many people in the USA have seen. It was... interesting. I am constantly stared at. It makes me feel really out of place. In the part of India where I am foreigners are not common. So I am quite the attraction. I am also still wearing my western clothes. I haven't seen one Indian woman here not wearing native clothing. So I think I shall buy some. That may help me stick out less. And maybe if I get a tan as well... Haha.
It really is quite different here. And different in ways I wasn't even expecting. I mean, I did expect it would be different. But not in some of the ways I have found. But then again there are also many things that are the same, like potato chips.
Much Love,
~ Jenna

I'm Here!

So I'm here in India now and it is amazing. It is exactly as I pictured it. Crazy traffic and I mean crazy. Street vendors on the side of the road. People riding motorcycles. Brightly colored advertisements. It's awesome. And the scenery and nature is beautiful. We're right by the beach, and it is pretty too, though supposedly dangerous. The people are very nice and friendly. It's just a great place. I haven't had much jet lag yet, so that is good. It's my second day here today.
My host family is very nice. Their last name is Jena. This is sort of funny, but very easy to remember. I have a host mother, father, and seven year old sister. They are very nice to me, and I can already feel myself opening up to them. I'm sure I'll end up having a great relationship with them by the end of my trip. My mother is a banker and I think my father is an architect of some kind.
I think they are quite well-off compared to some of the other host families other people on the trip have. I can use toilet paper; other families are asking that you do not use toilet paper because it will clog the toilets. Speaking of toilets, they have more bathrooms than bedrooms. Which I find amusing.
We start school next Friday, I can't wait for that. Before then we will be touring the city and stuff. We were fitted for uniforms today and we got our cell phones. It is free to talk to the people on the trip and anyone else with that service but I have to pay to make other calls. Actually, when people call me (even internationally) it is free for me as well. But, international calls are expensive. One of our teachers tried it with his wife and for them six minutes was like forty-five dollars. So I think I'll be using Skype.
Well, I don't really have much else to say. The country is amazing. My family is wonderful. When more happens I shall write!
Much Love,
~ Jenna

From the Plane

Hi, it's me again. My second blog post about my India trip. Exciting! I'm not there yet. I'm on the plane, going to France. And then from France we will connect to Chennai. I'm very excited to be going, though it hasn't quite hit me yet. I'm going to miss my family and friends but I'm sure I'll make lots of new friends and I'll call my parents every week or so.
I'm on the group flight, like most of the people. Twenty out of the twenty-four are on the group flight so I'm meeting everyone. They all seem very nice and I can't wait to get to know them better. It is mostly girls, only five guys out of the twenty-four. Kind of funny.
I cannot wait to meet my host family. I wonder what they are like, how many people, if they have kids. It's all very exciting and nerve-wracking. Then starting at the school will be fun too. SYA is new to India so the students at Vishaka Valley School will be completely new to this. We will be an interesting attraction. Haha.
I will see SeoYeun in Chennai which will be good. SeoYeun is a good friend of mine from my school. We are the only people who know each other on the trip. It's good in bad, but mostly good! I just want people to pin us as friends already and not want to approach us. But I'm sure that won't happen. It will just be great to have her with me and to see her! Well, that’s all I can think about to write right now. Haha. Next time I write I'll be in India!!!
Much Love,
~ Jenna
P.S. Okay, I just wanted to add a little more about the trip to India. I'm still not there. So I'm on my second flight, from Paris to Chennai. But it was delayed three hours. First when we got to Paris we had to wait four hours for this flight, and then once we were on it they had computer difficulties so they made us wait. Eventually we just switched planes. It was a mess. But, on the bright side, the group got some serious bonding in. Everyone is so nice and friendly, I feel like this is going to be a great trip!

Tomorrow I Go

Tomorrow I am going to India. I am going to be staying in India for a little over three months. From August 27th to about December 20th. This is going to be amazing! I am so excited!
I will be going with a group of 24 students through a program called School Year Abroad. (SYA) India is a new site for SYA and this is their first year so it is only a semester program. I will be one of the pioneers! SYA normally has full year programs, its other sites are Spain, France, Italy, and China. It is a great program and I am so happy to be a part of it.
In India I will be staying with a host family. I have yet to know who they are but I will probably find out soon after I arrive. I can't wait to meet them! The school I will be going to is called Visakha Valley School. I'm very excited to meet the students there as well. I am going to live in Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This is on the east coast of India; Vizag is a port city on the Indian Ocean.
Now that I've explained the program, I'll tell you a little about myself. I'm a sixteen (going on seventeen) year old girl. I'm starting my junior year of high school. My home school is Brooks School in the state of Massachusetts in the USA. I have a large family whom I love very much, six siblings, a mom, a dad, a step-dad, and a step-mom. I’m sad to be leaving them and my friends and classmates, but I know what I miss at home I will gain two-fold in India.
I like theater, film, and writing. Thus this blog will be really great for writing during my trip. I'm going to write in it so my family and friends, and whomever else wants to can find out what I am going in India.
It's going to be quite the experience and I am so excited but also very nervous. Next time you hear from me I'll be in India!!!
Much Love,
~ Jenna