Smell assaults you. Shit, piss, and garbage. There are other smells also, the smell of spice and street vendors’ ware, mouthwatering yet swarmed by interminable masses of flies. The air here is thick, buttery with myriad scents. The heat, oppressive and, in some places, in the 100s with high humidity.

Rickshaws buzz down the streets. Tuk-tuks (autorickshaws), cars, bicycles, people all together form a chaotic and terrifying mess on the roads. There are no street signs and traffic lights are a suggestion, sometimes.

As a foreigner you cannot drink the water. It is inevitable that most of us Americans will get sick from the food/water eventually. Multiple bottled waters is a must.

The brief intro into this sojourn in India is that I am a student at the University of Hyderabad goings with AIFS, a program that brings American students to India. There are six people on our program. Five girls and I, so an interesting dynamic. Amazing and fun loving people all. We spent the first week traveling the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, which comprise a tourist hotspot known as the “Golden Triangle.” Other Americans combined (along with token internationals) are maybe 60 people. A great bunch of fascinating individuals, I am deeply in debt to their company.