Heyya From Pune

Hey, team!

New day, new place.

Last time you heard from me, I was wallowing over the fact that I had to leave Delhi and my friends. I have to admit that after leaving them just yesterday, I'm still sulking a bit, but I'm definitely also loving our new destination of Pune.

Pune is great, but the journey to get here wasn't exactly the easiest. We were up late Thursday rearranging our suitcases to try to make them fit the weight requirements for our domestic flight to Pune; some of us succeeded, most of us didn't. I reached the point of it is what it is and went to bed... around 2AM.

Surprisingly enough, I woke up pretty easily the next morning, headed to breakfast, remembered my malaria pill, and was greeted by Binny to make the walk over to SRCC. I walked into the Seminar Room for the last time and plopped down in a seat. The closing ceremony began with various speakers and interesting comments, followed by the announcement of the results of our project presentations. My group came in second! Woo!

The rest of the morning was filled with many, many, pictures, selfies, and the exchanging of numbers. We had to rush because we had an hour drive to the airport, but none of us were ready to leave SRCC. After being dragged out of there after sharing hugs and good-byes, the Americans headed back to the International Guest House for a 30-minute power-packing session (we got new maroon duffle bags from our lovely buds at SRCC, which became the perfect carry-on.) Delhi traffic did not favor us on our way to the airport, and we arrived just one hour before our schedule departure.

After literally running off of the bus and hustling inside, we found out that our flight had been delayed and we had enough time to check-in and make it to our gate with time to spare. Feeling much more calm, a couple of us headed to a familiar face, STARBUCKS, for coffee and a snack. I was still pretty wound up from the overwhelming stress of rushing around everywhere, but I had the comfort of knowing that I was going to make our boarding time of 5 o'clock.

The two-hour flight was pretty uneventful; we were all sitting in a line behind one another so it was nice to chit chat for a little while. It was also great to take a quick snooze before landing in Pune. Unlike the vulnerable, overwhelming feeling that engulfed me when I stepped out of the Delhi airport for the first time, my new surroundings were very chill. I felt very comfortable walking through the airport. collecting my bags, and heading outside to get into the car.

Ellis, Tessa, Brady, and I squished into the back of a car for the 45 minute drive to our hotel. We were pleasantly surprised by our new accommodations, not just because of the awesome rooms, but because of its location. On a street filled with shops and cafes, we were excited to be able to venture out on our own for the first time. The only downside is that the wifi isn't the greatest, but it'll just have to do.

We all sprawled out in our new location and stayed up to celebrate Tessa's birthday at midnight. We didn't last too long after the birthday wishes and we all succumbed to the sleepy eyes close to 1AM. Being that we didn't have a schedule for today, we all woke up and did some exploring together. This area is soooooooooo radically different than Delhi and I'm really enjoying seeing yet another side of India.

After a great nap, I'm now lounging around with B as we get ready for a night out to celebrate Tessa's birthday. The plan is to head to the Hard Rock Café (much American very basic) and I'm sure we'll find some other adventure.

In case you were wondering, I REALLY MISS MY SRCC PALS.

Can't think of a funny (PUN)e to make into a parting phrase,
Kirst