Now that I’ve been in India for a few weeks, I’ve spent lots of time adjusting and enjoying the beauty of the Himalayas around me. It’s been such an exciting opportunity to learn more about Indian culture and the people of the Himalayan foothills. During my time here so far, I’ve explored so many amazing places, from new cafes to even visiting a local shoe cobbler with friends!

Due to the beautiful remoteness of the area, we’ve also spent much of our time walking and hiking to our destinations, really getting a glimpse at the wilderness around us. Currently here in India, it is monsoon season, which brings beautiful green and colorful foliage, but also pouring rains. Despite our stunning environment, the constant large rain periods were a difficult adjustment, especially since we have spent so much of our time enjoying the outdoors. We all quickly realized that our raincoats were not going to cut it once we were soaked in minutes of standing outside.

While spending so much time outdoors in such heavy rain can be difficult, we also realized the limitations of what we thought would work (our thin raincoats) and adapted by grabbing large rain ponchos from where we were staying. Finally, we were able to enjoy our time outdoors while still walking in the pouring rain, even though it originally made things difficult. The best part of it all was that we got to see what comes after the torrential downpours: stunning views. After the rains would stop we could sometimes see all the way down the mountains into the city below offering a beautiful view of our new experience.