College Student Foreign Exchange to Jaipur, India
 

Our college daughter is contemplating spending the fall semester (late August - December 2007) in Jaipur studying at an Indian college. We are not of Indian background, know no one there, and are trying to help her evaluate whether/not this would be a good decision. The educational opportunity sounds very promising, she is interested in studying the culture, language and public policy of India. She is an English major with a philosophy minor looking to become a full time college professor (this week LOL!) She is planning to spend the second semester in Israel.

What tips can Fodorites offer her icw living in India for 4-5 months? Will she need a visa or document to do this? What interesting sights are nearby that she might be able to visit. Are women safe traveling alone in India (she will be 20). What sort of medical immunizations/concerns should she have? We assume she will have student health, housing and meals. Will this be sufficient - should we supplement in some way? Any thoughts or ideas would be most welcome, thanks!

Our 20 yr old daughter spent a semester in India. It was a wonderful experience, and life changing in many ways.

Her program was a little different in that they went as a class of 20+ kids, and travelled all over india, stopping in places for a few weeks at a time and having lecturers comet to them in each spot.

They had enough free time for the kids to take lots of side trips on their own. They usually went in pairs or small groups, and my daughter felt quite safe. I travelled with her both before and after the semester and felt safe as well.

Your child will want to dress modestly. My DD and her classmates are brought loose cotton pants, short sleeved (not sleeveless ) tunic type tops, and ended up buying or having made local style skirts and salwahrs. Most of them wore sandal or flip flops.

She took a lot of protein bars and electrolyte drink powder and even asked me to send more at one point.

Your daughter will need a student visa, which involves applying for the visa with a letter from her school attached. She'll also need to be current on shots, including rabies, and may need to take anti-malarials while there. I strongly recommend contacting a travel doctor and asking the school about this.

Jaipur will serve as a nice base. This will be a fantastic opportunity to explore Rajasthan, a wondrous place. August and Sept will be on the hotter side but Oct-Dec will be good. I say, let her go for it!

Sometimes I am tired of my present work and I want to relieve the stresses and strains from work, so I would like to ask is there any good idea or tips on making me more happier or feel relaxed? I oftern go to the dance hall to sing and dance or play sports on weekends, but that is not enough, always doing the same thing is boring. Recenty, I found on the internet that learning a new skill during spare time is a good idea, it can make us more intellectual and make more friends. Such as, www.teacher-appreciation.info and www.aboutgolfschool.com are I've come acrossed. If you find any interesting things or have the same feelings as me, please chat with me. Have a nice day!

Lcuy, thanks for the response! She is considering a program from SIT, this is the link to more information: http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/progr...ogCode=ssa.ind. According to her, they will assist with the student visa and immunizations. We are not "helicopter parents" but worrying about having her thousands of miles away with no family/friends close by. The program would have her stay with an Indian family, learn Hindi, and it does sound like an incredible opportunity. Might it be possible to hear from your daughter as to what she thought of her program and any tips she would recommend? Thanks!

Aliska...don't apologize for worrying...Going to India is not something like going to London for study!! i was so nervous when our daughter announced this adventure and worried the whole time she was there, even after having been there with her!!

What was ironic is that she had no problems, other than a few stomach things, in all of India. There was a major rail disaster and flooding near her, but both times the school had the kids call us. She did however get in a cab accident in the center of NYC upon her return to the US.... No damage to her or her friends, but who worries about car accidents in Manhattan? Your daughter will be fine!

I'm leaving in a few hours for the East coast before I head back to India for my third time. I will be with that daughter next sunday in NYC and will ask her to give me her best tips!

also...the program looks pretty nice from that web site...looks like the kids will get to spend time in other cities besides Delhi, plus do other travel.

This is indeed a great opportunity for your daughter, and she will come back a different person for sure. Some random thoughts on your queries:

1. She will be quite safe traveling on her own and in groups. Violent crime is extremely rare in India, and petty theft rare as well, of course she should take normal precautions with wallet and valuables that should would take anywhere else. Indians are extremely friendly and conversational and this may take some getting use to, but there is no danger there. Women will probably speak to her much more readily than men.

2. While I agree that dressing modestly is more appropriate and respectful to the Indian culture, I find Indians in general are extremely tolerant of dress in foreigners, so I would not say she has to buy an entirely new wardrobe. She may get stares if she dresses like Brittany Spears, but she won't get hassled as she would in other countries I can think of, in Asia and elsewhere. She may find that local clothing is more suited to the climate, however, so that may be what she ends up wearing more often than not. I would not take good shoes, as sidewalks are often broken, when they exist at all, and streets tend to be dirty and dusty. Take a look at weatherbase.com for an idea of the temps she can expect to find in Jaipur during her stay. She may want to bring a sleep sheet to travel with if she plans on budget travel, and for sleeping on long train trips (someone could get one for her as a gift perhaps). A large backpack as well for travel.

3. She should have immunizations for Hep A and B, polio, thypoid, Tetanus, there may be others I am forgetting. The Hepatitis A or B is a series of shots several months apart, so you should start now. She can determine whether she wants to take Malaria meds, for that long a visit I don't know that I would want to be on meds that long, they have side effects when taken for months on end. This is something to be discussed with a doctor who knows tropical medicine, not just your family pediatrician who has looked at a website. She will be there for the end of the monsoon season, which in Jaipur does not mean deluges of rain, but if she chooses to travel to south India or east India during that time, then Malaria would be more of a concern there, and she may want to consider tablets for those trips. The CDC website is somewhat useful, you might look at that, but it is not always current, and of course tends to err on the side of more warnings than may be necessary. She should only drink bottled or boiled water and eat fruit she has peeled herself. Street stall food is generally safe if freshly cooked (I wouldn't go for the raw sugar cane juice, but the cooked food is usually OK.) All that being said, she should not be paranoid about everything she eats and drinks. A supply of Imodium is a good thing to have, as you don't want to go looking for it when you don't feel well. In about 10 years of traveling in India about once as month, I have been ill exactly twice, so IMO the illness issues are overrated. I am a big believer in Indian yoghurt as a preventative for digestive upsets. A lassi a day keeps the doctor away....

3. I am not sure what the school will provide in terms of health care. Health care in most of India is quite basic (but not expensive either). The school may only offer a very bare bones clinic that would probably be OK for tummy upsets, etc. The US embassy website may have contacts for doctors in Jaipur. I would suggest that you make sure that your health insurance covers her outside of the US AND will pay for evacuation costs (or you are willing to foot them yourself), and in case of a serious illness, I would say she should fly directly to Bangkok and go to Bumrungrad Hospital. See http://www.bumrungrad.com/. Singapore is another option, I would try Glen Eagles Hospital there, see http://www.gleneagles.com.sg/.

4. Living costs are generally quite inexpensive, so if the school is providing housing and food, if you give her some spending money, this should be OK to supplement her for other foods she may want (US type foods) and traveling. Is there anyway you can check on the quality of the housing that is to be provided? That is one thing I would want to know about, as the "dorms" may be quite different from one your daughter may be used to. (I don't believe she will have air conditioning for one thing, and temps will be in the 90 F during her initial time there). They may be pretty bare bones accommodations (dorms are often referred to as "hostels").

5. The school should help with obtaining the student visa, which she will definitely need, but for information take a look at Indian Embassy in the US at www.indianembassy.org. She might also consider registering with the US Embassy in New Delhi when she arrives so there are aware of her residence in Jaipur and can contact her in the event of any emergencies. Take a look athttp://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/american_citizen_registration.html. The website for the US Embassy in Delhi is http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/in1/wwwhmain.html.

6. Get her a guidebook for Rajasthan. Fodors is good, as is Lonely Planet (excellent for budget travel) and the Eyewitness Guides. The list of things to do and see in this region is almost limitless, plus all of India is available by air or train.

7. She should either buy an unlocked cell phone which will work in India or buy a cell phone in India when she arrives and a local sim card. This will be the very best way to ensure that you can reach each other at all times. E-mail is another good way and internet cafes can be found in many quite obscure places, but electricity can be sporadic at times so a cell phone is a better way to communicate. She should have an ATM card (I assume she does), as that would probably be the most efficient way for her to get funds. A credit card would be useful too, hotels and larger shops will accept them, and she should be able to get cash advances if necessary (again in larger cities, Jaipur should qualify), Short of that you can wire funds to her if necessary. ATM machines are generally found in major cities like Jaipur.

8. You should plan to visit her. Late Oct and November and December are superb weather.

Cicerone, thanks so much for all your info! She is in process of applying to go and won't find out till Spring 2008. If she gets accepted, she will be there late August - December 2008 and we are encouraged not to visit her until after the program is complete. We would like to visit late December 2008, but I am told this is the absolute highest season in India.

Regarding housing, the program states that there will be an immersion class in Hindi and that she would be housed locally by faculty/staff at the university. I work at a large insurance company in Ohio that has many native Indian workers. Amazingly, I have found Jaipur natives for her to speak as well as one whose father is a distinguished professor at the University of Rajasthan. There is a distinct possibility that she would live with them.

The program will assist with visa and prescribe the necessary immunizations. As far as modest dress, this will not be a problem. She is fairly observant Conservative Jew and kosher, which again we have been assured will not be a problem as she would live with a Hindu family (vegetarian). She is hoping to spend Spring Semester 2009 in Israel after her India stay.

Sounds like you have made some good progress and good contacts so far. I would note that while Hindus do not eat beef or beef products and virtually none eat pork, not all Hindus are vegetarians and those that are vegetarians may only be so on certain days of the week and during certain festivals. Also, even those that are more strict vegetarians will eat a lot of dairy and freely mix dairy (esp. yoghurt) with meat in cooking, so this may be an issue with a person trying to keep kosher. There is also no practice of keeping cooking pots or utensils for dairy and meat separate, or using separate plates for dairy and meat. Clarified butter (ghee) and yoghurt are the two base components of many north Indian chicken dishes for example.

On the plus side, Indians are very tolerant of the dietary practices of others and so if your daughter has preferences she should not be hesitant to let these be known to the people she is living with. I am sure that they would accommodate her to the greatest extent possible. There will more than likely be a cook and other servants in any household she is in who can be taught the necessary.

For travels, if you or she are interested in Jewish history, there is a small Jewish community in southern Indian in Kerala, mainly in Cochin that you may want to visit as part of a trip to India. There are also synagogues and small communities in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad (where Ghandi started his salt march and there is a small ashram still). Of them all, I think the Kerala/Cochin area is the most interesting and you can also spend time on a houseboat exploring the backwaters of this lovely area. Of course Delhi has a ton of stuff to see and do as well. I am not a huge fan of Mumbai for the tourist, as it is just a huge huge city. While December is high tourist season, it is also great weather, not hot and very little rain in most parts of India. There are expensive hotels, but you can also do for less, I have found Allistar Sawday’s book Great Places to Stay India to be very helpful, he has a website at http://www.specialplacestostay.com.

A Hindi immersion course will be interesting but IMO not really necessary as English is widely and well spoken in most parts of India, signage is in English, government offices conduct most business in English and provide publications in English, railway and airport announcements are in English, etc; however a little Hindi will make her extremely popular with locals as they appreciate any effort to embrace local culture. Of course there are like 36 other languages spoken in India (including local dialects in Rajasthan) so that is another reason why English can be just as helpful.

There is a huge amount of fiction and non-fiction in English about India by Indian authors and others. (Wait until you see an Indian bookstore and the prices they have). I have a list if you or your daughter want some starting ideas.

Cicerone,

My husband and I are tentatively planning a trip to India in February 2009. I'd love to see your India reading list. Could you post it here? Thanks.

wj1-

take a look at this old thread called "a good reading list for India"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34820548

cruisinred:

Thanks!