Woke up around 7:30am. Wore my Fab India cream-colored with green vines kurti I purchased last night. I love the fit and neckline – wish I bought these clothes earlier in the trip, so that I could wear them more. I finished revising half of my paper based on Adam’s editing before breakfast. With his good critical comments, I improved my paper by further explaining some topics and deleting other parts where he thought it didn’t flow. Walked with Lauren to breakfast around 8:50am: two pancakes, omelet, curry, and tea. Walked back to room to finish the paper due at noon. I submitted at 11:58am.
Lunch at 12:30pm: roti, barley rice, biryani-like rice, bean curry, eggplant curry, and yellow curry. Everyone was already there when I arrived and most of the group left shortly after I sat down to go to the beach. I opted out because I still needed to finish the PowerPoint presentation for the final paper. Bought orange juice after lunch and returned to room. I submitted the presentation around 4:30pm and feel pretty confident about it. It looks presentable with plenty of pictures. Visited Lauren, but she was putting finishing touches and pictures in her presentation, so Kelsey and I waited.
Tea time: Indian pizza and cake – yummy.
Talked to Lindsey about her speech tonight and gave her words of encouragement. Lauren and Kelsey went to the Manipal store and Smiles store to buy cookies and journals, but I returned to my room. I didn’t really do anything productive. I feel so relieved to be done with work – just a presentation tomorrow morning left.
Farewell dinner at the Grand Valley Hotel at 6:45pm. I am excited! Stopped by Lauren’s room to hear her and Kelsey jamming to Taylor Swift. We wanted a picture in front of the Manipal sign in front of the library, so we took a few with Taniqua.
Everyone met in front of the cafeteria wearing Indian clothes. I talked with Xhonela and Lindsey on the way to the hotel. Dr. Raj left us mid-way to get flowers for the dinner. We gathered in front of the Marena and Lindsey asked someone to take a group picture for us. I handed him my camera. It turned out really nice.
After pictures galore, we walked to the hotel. Upon entering, a sweet aroma filled the air in the lobby and the cold burst of air-conditioning settled pleasantly on our skin. We were in a different room this evening than the one we had the welcoming reception in. We were welcomed with a ginger orange juice.
I sat next to Nikki and Kelsey F. At one point, Adam, Sahanna, and Drew were playing the “stare at someone” game and I was the first “victim”, but I noticed right away.
We listened to a lot of thank you speeches with flower-giving featuring Dr. Raj, Dr. Kamath, other women that accompanied us on field trips, the chancellor, and the study abroad coordinator.
Dr. Raj was so cute and gifted people with chocolate. Taniqua, Paul, and Lindsey gave small speeches about our collective experience in India. Then, we received wooden elephants as a parting gift. Eight or so girls performed several traditional dances for almost an hour.
We had tomato spice soup as an appetizer followed by a dinner buffet. The food was really good, and I was full after one plate.
Dr. Raj teased me for submitting my paper two minutes before the deadline at dinner. Haha. He was on the other side of the room, so I didn’t hear how the conversation started, but I heard my name and turned around. Dessert: vanilla ice cream, honey-like substance, and fruit.
I was getting ready to pull out my camera when Adam said, “we need a picture”. Me- “yeah! I’m glad I met my twin in India.”
Back at the room, I uploaded pictures to the computer, brushed my teeth, and Skyped mom. I heard more about the creepy waiter. Mom told me he was so happy to find me on Facebook (not accepting…).
Ghrellen 