Donkey and Ogre

We have reached the end of our time together as 28 studious nomads: wandering India, learning together, sleeping in hot afternoon classes, and pulling all-nighters on our final essays, simply because Rajasthan actually cools down at night. It is actually quite strange. The way that I have experienced India so far has been in this tribe of Canadian students, finding the balance between studies and exploring, immersion in the culture and getting to know my fellow group members, and Indian food and western imitations. Now it will just be donkey and ogre; Kusco and Pacha; Bambi and that little skunk; off on another whirlwind adventure. Out of those dynamic Disney duos, I will leave it to you, dear reader, to decide which is Eli and which character I will be.

Last night was a final dinner party with all of our host families, professors, and of course, Chris and Mithila. We also had a final meeting just as a group together earlier in the day, as well as a final Ultimate game on the Cricket pitch of Rajasthan University. I'm going to miss those games. For the record, my team won the last game. It was a big deal. I think Matt Stock is currently losing sleep over it. The final days as a group have been great. We had an "awards" ceremony where people were awarded "best potential rickshaw driver's" (Olivia and Abra), "best facial hair" (Remy), and "Most likely to be a stray Indian dog" (Peter)...and other such awards. We wrote our final exams, finished our independent study papers, and began to get excited for everyone's different upcoming journeys. Some are going up north, some back south, some to Nepal or east Asia, but we'll all end up back in Canada, and I'll probably bump into most people at the Bull Ring or somewhere in the library in a few months. This shared experience is over, and it won't ever be replicated. Certainly, it could never - and should never - be replicated. It was a once in a lifetime kind of deal.

Dear India Semester Abroad friends: Ya'll a bunch of angels. Peace and joy for your journeys, thanks for an incredible few months. See you at home.

A donkey and an ogre, on a long train to West Bengal...a new chapter begins...