Vanakkam! (Hello, and welcome!)
My name is Sonia Norton and I live in a small city in southern India called Vellore. I am 22 years old and I grew up near the Pacific Ocean outside Los Angeles, California. I have a younger brother named Henry and a dog named Comet. I graduated from high school in California, and then I went on to study politics at Earlham College in Indiana.
While I was in college, I studied in Dharamsala (“dar-ah-m-saw-law”), a town in Northern India, for four months. Moving away from home was intimidating, but I met many new people who welcomed me and made new places fun instead of scary. In each of the places I lived, I made great friends from many different places.
I love learning about other cultures, traditions and cuisines (food!). That is why I jumped at the opportunity to come back to India to teach as a Fulbright-Nehru English Teaching Assistant. I wanted to teach because, as a teacher, I get to learn from the students. Living in Vellore, I am learning about traditional dances, different foods and how to use kilograms instead of pounds to weigh things. I am also learning to eat spicier food and I always stop to watch the neighborhood monkeys! My adventures are helping me learn about other cultures and about my culture.
I am excited that I get to share my adventures with you! Let's go!
