The Undercurrent

Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Cody Fitzparick

"When we first got there, we got off the plane and go to get on the bus and they put strings of flowers around our neck and that was their way of welcoming us to India," sophomore Brittney Switzer explains about her first trip to the Asian country.

Students were required to complete a one-credit course in the fall that prepared them for India. This trip was a part of the BRIDGES program, which is designed to link the lessons learned in the classroom to actual experience they gain while traveling. Brittney was one of 19 students who traveled overseas for this J-Term experience which was a huge change from everyday life in Iowa, "It's so different from America and the food…the food was really different. It was very, very spicy so that was something you had to work around," Switzer said.

Professors Wind Goodfriend and Swasti Bhattacharyya led the students on the trip that started December 28th and lasted almost a month. The students traveled through different cities of the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, and the Himalayas, to learn about the different culture. "It was amazing. Probably the best place I have ever been in my life or I'll ever even go. It's just so different from here and it was just such an experience and there was so much learning I could do," Brittney gushed.

In addition to the new culture and religion, students learned how to barter for their purchases and Switzer explained that "Everything there was relatively inexpensive because it's 40 rupee to a dollar."

This was the first time for the trip to India and they're thinking about another trip back, Brittney said if given the chance she would definitely go back, "I want to go back now; it's sunny there in January.

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