Never in my life had I imagined that I would be in India. I’d heard a lot of stories especially from my Indian friends back home about India but I never physically imagined myself in India.
Hearing that I was going to complete my IB education in India was a true shock to me. I literally had no words. All I did was laugh because I was not sure what emotion I felt. Sadness? Anger? Surprise? Happiness? It was a blur to me. In all honesty, India was not my top choice in the UWC list. It wasn’t even on my list to begin with. So hearing that I was going to a school I never even thought of going to in the first place was sort of disappointing. However if you ask me now, there’s honestly no place I’d rather be.
I think the thing that scared me the most was not the thought of going to a new country; it was leaving my brother and sister behind. We have literally been with each other since the first day. In my mind, I had no idea how I would survive without them. Never in my life had I imagined being separated from them at such a young age. My sister left 10 days before me and that just made me more anxious. She would tell me stories on how she met new people and made new friends. I wondered how MUWCI would be. Would the people be friendly? Would I get along with my roommates? How would my classes be?
Finally, On August 22nd, I set off on my journey to MUWCI accompanied by my dad. I didn’t know what to take so I literally shoved my entire wardrobe into 3 huge 23 kg suitcases. We arrived at Pune Airport at around 3am in the morning. I kept thinking to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’At the airport, there was a driver waiting for me to take me to the school. I arrived at 6AM all alone. No one was awake on campus and I had to make it to my room by myself without even knowing where I was going. Luckily, I met 2 nice people who showed me where my room was and helped me with my suitcases.
After settling in, I was very happy with my wada, my room and my roommates.We had 2 weeks of orientation. On one of those days, we played mud games which is an old MUWCI tradition.
In the beginning, I wasn’t too keen on coming to MUWCI but I have never dreamed of being in such an amazing place. I am grateful for this opportunity every day. It honestly doesn’t matter which UWC school you’re put in. All the schools are unique and amazing in their own way.
More photos in the photo gallery section!
Lots of Love,
Adala