After over a month away from home, students on the College's inaugural foreign study program in India have adjusted to a foreign culture filled with new sounds and sights and are trying to keep an open mind regarding unfamiliar customs, according to program participants interviewed by The Dartmouth. The program, which began Dec. 27 and is offered jointly by the women's and gender studies and Asian and Middle Eastern studies departments, is the most recent study abroad program instituted by the College.
Fourteen upperclassmen who are studying Indian social movements and gender dynamics are spending their Winter term enjoying 80-degree weather at the University of Hyderabad in South India.
Kate Desrochers '12 said she and fellow students have begun to settle into their new home.
"When you get over here, you have an overload of senses," Desrochers said. "Now we're in the stage where we're learning that things run differently it's a different pace of life."
Although members of the group were skeptical of immersing themselves into the culture at first, they have gradually begun to adapt to the Indian lifestyle, according to Rachel Sarnoff '12.
"Initially, we rolled our eyes at [the idea that] long sleeved clothes and loose cotton clothes would keep us cool," she said. "Now, we've all been wearing our kurtas and our Aladdin-style pants."
The students have also learned etiquette norms and have realized that actions considered routine in the United States are unacceptable in Indian classrooms, Sarnoff said.
"Like chewing gum in class, it's considered really rude," Sarnoff said. "Also, crossing your legs so that your foot is showing to your professor that's also considered really rude."
Although the language barrier is at times significant on FSP programs, it has not been a challenge for the students currently studying in India, according to Sarnoff.
"I am so impressed and in awe of [the lack of language barrier]," she said. "Almost everybody here speaks more than one language there is a beautiful synergy of languages."
The FSP began on Dec. 27 with a week-long tour of the Golden Triangle tourist route, which includes New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, according to WGST professor Faith Beasley, who accompanied the group for the first few weeks to help the students and Fluri settle in. Students visited the Taj Mahal and other historical sites to gain exposure to life and culture in India before beginning classes, Beasley said.
The atmosphere of the city has made several students rethink their impression of the United States, according to Desrochers.
"It was very touristy and made me think that nothing in the [United States] is old," she said. "It was also interesting to see tourists in a different place I have also never felt so hyper-sensitive about my color and the fact that I'm six feet tall."
Members of the group are taking three courses, one taught by program director Jennifer Fluri and two led by Indian professors at the University of Hyderabad.
In one of the requisite class offerings, "Contemporary Social Movements in India," students work with a local non-profit organization. The students can tailor their projects to suit their academic orientations, Beasley said.
Students can also enroll in additional courses on campus with prior approval from the program coordinators, according to Beasley. Some members of the group have chosen to learn Hindi at the University, Desrochers said.
The opportunity to interact with other American students on campus helps defuse some of the "claustrophobia" that often develops among students on Dartmouth study abroad programs, according to Sarnoff.
Students in the program began a joint blog in an effort to spread the word about the program. The students post photographs and comments about their experiences on the blog, Beasley said.
The program has challenged students' preconceptions about India, according to Beasley.
"They're listening, learning, keeping their eyes, ears open and not judging," Beasley said. "They'll be thinking about this experience even when they come back it's not a learning experience that's going to stop."Beasley and Fluri collaborated with AMES professor Douglas Haynes to create the program over the past five years, Beasley said. The AMES and WGST departments sent several professors to India two years ago to establish a site from which to run the program, according to Haynes. The group decided to collaborate with the University of Hyderabad under its "Study in India" program, Beasley said.
"We wanted a place where we could develop our own program, not just insert the students into another program," Beasley said. "We were looking for a university that would develop a course we wanted and [that had] strong research facilities and that could house students comfortably as well."
Program coordinators chose Hyderabad because it is a "livable city," Haynes said.
Beasley said the residential facilities were ideal for students.
"The campus is really large and very safe," she said. "Students many have bought bikes now would be going to campus and they'd run into water buffaloes. And I told them, Oh look, you've exchanged the squirrels for the water buffaloes.'"
Program coordinators were also impressed by the city's cultural diversity, according to Beasley.
"We also chose Hyderabad because it's a city where Hindus and Muslims have worked and lived together for hundreds of years, since the 1500s," she said. "It's called the Crossroads of India' and it's often called the Gateway to the South,' where the cultures of the north and the south mix."
Students submitted applications for next Winter's program on Feb. 2.
Eliana Piper '14, who applied to the program for Winter 2012, said studying in India seems like the "perfect opportunity" to study in a place different than Hanover.
Eva Petrow '13 said she applied to the program due to the opportunities to be immersed in South Asian culture.
"I've always been fascinated by South Asian culture and language," she said. "I heard about [the program] before it was even established, when I was applying to Dartmouth, and I thought it was really exciting that I could do this program before I graduate."
