One month after

I like these times when campus is quiet. When all I can hear is the song of some bird I don't know the name of, and the snoring of my roommate, of whom I do, but won't share here ;)

It's Sunday morning. Lie in day.
But this particular Sunday, I am not catching up on desperately needed sleep.
Instead, I'm sat on my windowsill, reflecting upon the last 30 days, my first month at MUWCI.
Trying to think how I can possibly convey through words the experiences  and emotions of living so far away from everything I know, in such a place as this.
It probably won't work. But I'll give it a shot.

It's scary to think how quickly this month has gone, considering there are now only two and a half left before the end of term. This term, the first of four, in our MUWCI journeys.
After the initial excitement of integration week, along with meeting and getting to know everyone, we started to settle down into our new home, our new lives. (Not that everyday didn't bring a new surprise, of course. In a place like this, where everything is so different, new, and undiscovered, surprises are pretty much routine!)

Now, a month in, with pretty much all our trivenis (non-academic activities) and classes started, we are beginning to find our rhythm. I can't get my head around how different this place is to school back home. In fact, sometimes it's easy for me to forget it's school at all.

I couldn't possibly tell you about everything that has happened since we arrived here. For one, I'd have to go into detail about every day, as each one has been meaningful in one way or another. For two, I hope to describe most aspects of MUWCI in posts to come, over the next two years.

But for one, these first 30 days have confirmed that the diversity of the student body makes a UWC experience what it is. So many backgrounds, cultures, languages I can't make head or tale of, so many people with so many stories to tell.
Out first moth here has seen many late night discussions, sharing experiences, opening our eyes to parts of the world we thought we knew about. Everyone so different, yet perhaps even more strikingly, so similar in so many ways.
I think this aspect of our MUWCI journeys is one we'll always treasure, even when, years from now, the school work is long gone, the photographs faded and other memories buried in the back of our minds.
Because it is this diversity and exposure to so many different people that will shape our lives here at MUWCI, and ultimately shape who we are later in life.

Now, on another note:
Yesterday marked the 32nd International Day of Peace, or World Peace Day.
Here at MUWCI, we celebrated by having a day of action, with the aim of making our beautiful campus more sustainable, and conserving the biodiversity we are so lucky to have.
Similar projects were undertaken worldwide, on large and small scales.

But unfortunately, in other parts of the world, things are not looking so optimistic.
Yesterday, the tragedy in Kenya took us all by surprise.
All over the world, prayers and sympathies are going out towards Nairobi, and the families of the victims in Westgate Shopping Mall. One MUWCI alumnus was eye witness to these events. Please take the time to read this, her account of yesterday's tragedy.
http://lifeonthedirt.blogspot.in/2013/09/terror-at-westgate-shopping-mall-2111.html

Thank you so much for reading,

Maria xXx

Welcome to MUWCI...

When you're woken up at 6:30 AM to wrestle in the mud and rain.

When your classroom turns orange overnight.

When you climb a hill and feel like you're in a picture book.

When frogs invade your laundry.

When a Norwegian makes a Mexican burrito out of Indian chapati, rice and dal and explains it all in English.

When it's normal to do homework on the roof. Or in a tree.

When you're happy to find time to sleep anywhere.
Anywhere.

When sunsets look like this:

...and these guys are your teachers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBJ0btv85kg

That's when you know. 

There's only one place you can be.

MUWCI has now been my home for exactly 23 days.

Integration week kicked off with seven amazing, crazy days of 200 new people, new faces, new names, various activities, discussions, lots of mud, lots of laughter, lots of getting lost and not much sleep!

The first and second year shows were a magical opportunity for students from all around the world to share their talents, interests, and cultures. The richness and diversity of the student body here made the overall show as colourful and exciting as it was.

A homestay in this first week saw us submerged into rural Maharashtran life. Although for one night only, it was an experience we'll hold onto for years to come. We were taken down the valley into local villages, where families welcomed us into their homes, showed us their village and introduced us to several aspects of the lives and culture. Although at first the language barrier was an obstacle (their English being limited, and my Hindi/Marathi being non-existent), after a while we worked it out. Kids are kids anywhere, after all. Kids play, they laugh, they sing and dance. And that's what we did, as well as them showing us the village, the temple, the rice fields, the mango trees, the river and the animals.

From the tiny fraction I have seen, I still find India an enchanting place. The city of Pune was introduced to us last week, and although very different from the rural areas surrounding MUWCI, I also can't wait to get to know it better.

Paud, the nearest town, is still undiscovered to me for the most part. We did go down one evening for dinner, music and chill-time, which was a lot of fun, but otherwise I haven't yet explored it.

Anyway, that's a brief summary of some of the highlights of what's been happening here for the last few weeks. (There's more, but I'm becoming increasingly conscious of the fact that this is turning into a very long and probably boring by now post, so I'll leave it there for now!)

I have come across several other blogs from muwci students, which I'd like to share with you. So expect that soon.

Anyway, thanks for reading, see you soon :)

Maria xXx