India, My New Home

Welcome to my blog, friends!

         Hello Everyone! I am Louisa Funk and I am an AFS exchange student exploring India. I’ve been on my cultural exchange for a little over two months now. Numerically, I’ve lived in India for only a tiny fraction of my life, but these last 60 days have felt the opposite of small. When I reflect on all the wonders I have seen, people I have met, the language I’ve begun to learn, and the sheer amount of life I’ve witnessed and absorbed, I think: “there’s no way all that living and learning happened in just a matter of weeks.” I’m living in a way I never have before. It’s overwhelming and new and beautiful and somewhat bizarre. I cannot wait to see where this whirlwind of a year will take me.

                        

         My new home is a saffron colored row-house with a mango tree in the front, slightly removed from Nashik City, Maharashtra, India. Nashik is the third largest city of the state Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune.  It is considered a small city, with an area of 1035 mi.² and a population of “only” about 1,500,000 people. Nashik is known as the “Wine Capital of India” because it holds 50% of India’s total vineyards.  Nashik is also a very sacred city. It is divided in half by the Godavari River, the 2nd largest river of India.  The river is surrounded by many temples and sacred grounds and is the site of prominent religious festivals. Due to this, Nashik is also called as the “Spiritual Capital of Maharashtra.”

                          

          Nestled between mountain ranges and cut by the beautiful Godavari River, Nashik shows the stunning contrast of tropical rain forest against urban life in the second most populous country of the world. The nature and the cities just coexist beautifully. Roads are built around massive banyan trees. Cows and elephants roam the streets alongside the cars and motorized scooters. Each and every living thing is givin great value and respect in this city. Even as urbanization occurs, the trees are left intact. Even at the city begins to modernize, the ancient ways of life remain.

          During my year in this beautifully chaotic city I will observe the unique ways of Indian life. I will absorb this vibrant culture. I will do everything that I possibly can. This is quite the adventure!








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