One of the main reasons why I started this blog was to have a sense of community of my own. Like I am all for diversity and stretching the comfort zone, but sometimes you just want to converse or scream in your mother tongue, I know I am not the only one who feels like this. If you follow my blog, you know that I am the only African student currently enrolled in my uni. And although my time in India is almost over and has been nothing short of a good time, I still want to establish my African community. And now I am excited to share the first experience of an African student in India who is not me:) Here goes:
Name: Thato Kholoane
Home:Maseru, Lesotho
Studies: BSc Industrial Chemistry
India: Delhi
“It was one of the happiest moments in my life. I felt blessed and I was not going to waste this opportunity. My family was very happy for me, I am the only person in my family to go as far as I am with education and not for lack of trying but they could not afford it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I was ecstatic.Landing in India was not bad, the weather was harsh but that didn’t bother me at all, after all I was excited to be in a different environment. My excitement was soon leveled out by the processes of settling in, university registration, and so on. I believe I would have had a different experience and probably got things done quicker and smoother if the registration was not as exhausting and if I had proper help not only from the scholarship committee, but the university as well. The language barrier made it almost impossible to do anything on time. Obviously being so different expect to get people staring and whispering behind your bag. To be fair it is nothing personal,it just a little uncomfortable, but you learn to ignore all of it and embrace your foreignness. I am the only African student in my college and sometimes the lecturers communicate in Hindi, and so do most students, making it a little difficult to make friends or let alone participate in activities. Hindi is not an easy language.The food is so different from what we have at home, to this day I am still struggling to adjust to the diet here. Being a first time traveler, and first time in India, I would say food was the most culture-shocking for me. My first few weeks were bad I can tell you that much, but I stuck it out because this opportunity was not going to escape me easily. I am more resilient than I thought. The one thing I miss about Lesotho and my small town back home in Lesotho is the fresh air and being in a space that is generally less crowded and less busy, because Delhi has no such thing as calm hours. I appreciate Lesotho a lot more than before because of my experiences here. I have not explored my new city yet, but I plan to and hopefully I find a new interest or a place I can truly call my spot :). My word to future foreign students: Be ready, strong and resilient. India will test you in ways you can never imagine.”
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Thato in person yet, but she sounds terrific! And perhaps on my way back to Shimla I might make my traditional stop in Delhi. Yes it can be described as chaotic, busy and crowded, but hey what isn’t. I had so much fun celebrating Christmas in Delhi with friends, their family and friends. Hell guys! Life e monate man! We may have different reasons for ending up in India, but we sure have similar experience The challenges faced and lessons learned are pretty much the same. Stay tuned for more…
#AfricanInIndia
matshidisolp 