Hi everyone,

I have been in Mussoorie India for almost three weeks and have had a fantastic experience. Through this time, I have explored the local city, eaten at local restaurants, and even had the opportunity to explore other cities in India, such as Rishikesh where I was able to step into the Ganges river. Mussoorie is significantly different than Pitt in almost every way. Even though I thought Pittsburgh was hilly, Mussoorie has many more steep hills throughout since it is a hill city on the Himalayan Mountains. This makes the walk to class tiring but with beautiful views. Since we are staying in a rural area, we walk on the road and avoid cars, motorbikes, cows, monkeys, and dogs to get from place to place. The local shops here are very diverse, but a unique thing that I noticed was that there are many tailors, cobblers, and barber shops. I actually went to one of the barber shops, which was a really fun experience. There are also many street food vendors sell a variety of food like street corn and sweets. There are also a bunch of coffee shops that sell chai and other teas along the road. Although walking can be difficult, the weather here is beautiful, which makes it a little bit less tiring. The views are also always beautiful, so it is always great to walk around town and see all the mountains around us. 

A typical day here is also significantly different than at Pitt. We wake up in the morning to the noises of dogs barking or even the occasional sound of monkeys on our roof. Our classes here are from 8:30-3:30 pm, which is similar to my day at Pitt. However, the walk to class here is much more exciting and has really amazing views as the classroom is almost 300 steps below us. Additionally, as we walk to class, we hear monkeys above us in the trees, which is cool but also scary as monkeys can grab stuff from you and swing away, meaning that I always need to watch out when carrying stuff. Additionally, on our walk, we see a lot of stray dogs and cows, which is very different from Pitt. Currently, we are doing our Wilderness First Responder class, which involves learning wilderness first aid and doing scenarios with other classmates. So far, it has been super interesting and I have learned a ton of new information on how to help others. Traveling to India has been an incredible experience so far, and I look forward to learning more in my class and traveling around the area.