One reason why the Reimagining India trip was so amazing was because I was jumping into the unknown. Yes, we had done our pre-departure learning about India. However, when you encounter unexpected things in a new environment, that is when your biases will be challenged the most.
While I hope that future participants in PMSA programmes are also taken out of their comfort zone, here are the top things that I wish I knew before departing. Hopefully my little list will help calm some of your nerves and prepare you to face new learnings in India!
- Vaccinations
First, an important disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor do I have any medical experience!
Consulting your doctor early to find what vaccinations are necessary is a great idea. Some of the vaccinations may take multiple visits/doses, so starting early will make the experience less stressful.
Our cohort was given some varying advice from our doctors about what vaccinations were/weren’t needed. I got the hepatitis B and tetanus vaccine, but I wish I got the rabies vaccine. I think getting the rabies vaccine simply would have given me some peace of mind while we were travelling. None of the animals we saw appeared rabid or aggressive, but we did encounter plenty of stray dogs and monkeys across the different cities we visited!
2. Visa
Your visa is another process to get started on as soon as you get the relevant information to fill it out! I had some visa troubles and had to reapply a second time. I also spent a lot of time on the phone to India to process my visa.
Altogether, my visa process took about a month. However, my visa took the longest out of our group of 24. Most of the group’s visas took under a week to process. The lesson is that you never know if you will have bad luck in the visa process, so start ASAP to relieve any stress!
3. Packing
You will be given a packing list, which I think was very accurate and helpful to what I packed. You will also be given a weight limit. We had a 15 kg limit for a domestic flight that was three weeks into our six week journey.
Heading over to India and until the domestic flight, my bag was 12 kg. This meant that I packed quite light in comparison to other students. I was glad that my bag was so light for the domestic flight because it made the check-in at the airport less stressful and less expensive! The clothes that I packed were light weight (light skirts, t-shirts) and I packed a single toiletry bag with the necessities (tooth-paste, brush, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, bar soap, light makeup etc). We also moved hotels every 2-5 days, so this made my bag easy to pack up and move around! The hotels are well equipped with toiletries, and there will be opportunities to purchase anything you forgot or want more of. Plus, I had room for bringing presents home in my bag too. Coming home my bag had gained 3-4 kgs worth of gifts.
It was hard to gauge how much of different types of clothes to bring for a 6 week adventure in India! I made sure to bring clothes for various occasions/activities: corporate wear, formal, plenty of everyday clothes. I made sure that the clothes I brought were modest with having my shoulders covered and nothing above the knee. We did a lot of temple and religious site visits, so this was useful. I also brought some scarves with me to cover my hair in these settings, but you will easily be able to find scarves in India!
The two things that I wish I brought more of was activewear and one more corporate outfit. We did yoga and Bollywood dance in the privacy of the hotel almost every morning for the first four weeks. I wish I brought a pair of long exercise tights, as there may also be opportunities to use hotel gyms to stay active during your stay!
Not only were the light clothes useful for weight restrictions, but they were also great for staying modest in the hot weather! The weather in the South was very warm. We arrived in Chennai in January and the hottest we experienced was ~34 degrees. Bringing a hand-fan with you might be a good idea too! In the North (after our domestic flight), the weather was colder. I expected to spend some money on warmer clothes once I no longer had the 15 kg bag limit; however this was unnecessary. I brought one rain jacket/windbreaker and one hoodie with me and this was sufficient. The temperatures in the North ranged between ~ 9 – 18 degrees on average.
I would recommend bringing some NZ souvenirs to give to any buddies you are assigned and other friends you make in India! Across the trip, I was assigned four buddies at various schools and being able to thank them with a token of NZ was a nice gesture! I personally brought a pack of small rugby kiwi toys, one large kiwi toy and one large lamb toy, and this was sufficient to last me the six weeks of making friends. Some people also brought Whittaker’s chocolate to hand out to kids which was a wonderful idea!
4. Journaling
Bring some journals with you so you can keep track of what you have experienced. I had one journal for myself, which I admittedly fell behind on updating. If you don’t get motion sick, there will be plenty of time on the bus to do some journalling. I also had one book for people I met to write in, which has been an awesome reminder of the friends I made along the way!
Don’t forget to bring plenty of pens, a pencil and eraser, and a glue stick.
5. Don’t worry!
Scratch that: don’t just relax, be excited!
With the love and care from the IndoGenius team, there was never a moment where I felt unsafe or unsupported in India. Furthermore, the locals are incredibly friendly and eager to help you. The locals are very excited for you to experience India as positively as possible. If you ever found yourself in need of help from strangers, I am certain you could find it easily.
Finally, don’t have restless nights before you leave! Make sure to get some good rest in the nights leading up to your departure. This will enable you to enjoy the experience more fully and boost your immune system too.
I hope my pre-departure tips for India are helpful! If you have any questions or want to chat, I’m sure anyone from the 2024 India PMSA cohort would be more than happy to talk about their experience. Remember: being out of your comfort zone is where the most growth will happen!