My two cents

Alright, so this is my first blog ever (like most of the group). So here we go.

Just a few initial thoughts: When we arrived at the Hyderabad airport, I was really excited. I was a little nervous about my role in the group. Kind of an outsider being a student and not knowing everyone as well. But also, since we were staying with my family, I feel like I am a pseudo-host. So my initial excitement also contained some anxiety about whether these other guys would have a good trip.

But by the time we finally arrived at the apartment, I felt extremely comfortable. My family help build this apartment building a couple of years ago, and I have stayed here multiple times. But this is the first time where it felt this close to a "home". I don't know exactly what that means, but it was a good feeling.

But then I woke up this morning and we started walking around the neighborhood. And I realized that I know very little to nothing about the community around me. And that is what makes this trip so interesting for me. Besides my family and their friends, I have rarely interacted with other people living in India.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the change from Amsterdam to Hyderabad. For the next two days we are free and have no agenda (much like my two days in Amsterdam). I wasn't a great "tourist" in Amsterdam, but I knew what to do because being a tourist is so easy and defined. Both Amsterdam and Hyderabad have museums and monuments and the like. But Hyderabad isn't a tourist driven place. It's a place where there are a large amount of people living typical Indian lives. I've thought for a while that if foreigners to the US wanted to see how most Americans live, they would go to Cleveland, or Charlotte or St Louis or Albuquerque - not NYC or LA. I see Hyderabad as that kind of city in India- and that's also kind of the reason why I am intrigued to learn more about it. That probably doesn't make sense, and/or you don't agree with it. But that's just a thought.