When I got to college, I discovered I could study this art! This is why I chose to study art-history, which looks into what and why people create. My favorite art-history teacher specializes in India, so I learned a lot about Indian culture, as a result. I even studied in Varanasi, India during college! While living in this ancient Indian city, I stayed with an amazing host family. They called me “Diidii” (“Big Sister”) and treated me like one too! I stil keep in touch with my host family on a group-chat, which makes them feel closer than they really are when I’m in the U.S.
Because I had such an amazing experience in Varanasi, I knew I wanted to come back to India someday. I applied for a grant, which is an award given by the government to help pay for research. Luckily, I received the grant, so I was able to move back to India and continue my art research! And that is what I am actually doing right now.
Living in a new place means learning to live in a new way, too. There are some things I loved doing at home that are much harder to do in New Delhi. For instance, I love to bake, but our house (like many houses in New Delhi) does not have an oven! At home, I would bike about 50 miles for exercise and fun, but my neighborhood here has so many people, cars, motorcycles, and animals on the street that it is a little dangerous to do that here. In college, I could visit my friends whenever I wanted, but now they live on the other side of the world.
Even though I miss my old routines, I’m even more excited to fill my time with new hobbies! So instead of baking, I have taught myself how to cook certain North Indian dishes on the stovetop.
