Some advice for future Alliance students

As we're wrapping up our time here, I have decided to share some advice that I've been noting all semester. Going to India is an incredible experience, and the Alliance usually does a pretty good job of helping you through your stay. Nonetheless, like all programs it's not perfect, and this advice will help you fill in the gaps. For those of you who aren't planning to go to this program, this will probably not be all that helpful for you.

Packing advice

• Bring at least three pants and six shirts; laundry won't be possible for the first week while you're in the retreat center. A Tide ToGo Pen also doesn't hurt.
• Bring shampoo and body wash; it is also unavailable the first week and after is hard to find (though most medicals stores have a selection of unfamiliar products from familiar brands). However, you can always borrow from friends if you forget.
• Bring basic medical supplies, especially pepto bismol/tums and advil (and anything you need specifically). You can buy lots of medicines here relatively cheap, though you'll need to know the drug name rather than the brand name (ex. Cetirizine instead of Zyrtec).
• Bring hand sanitizer. Public washrooms usually don't have soap. The program center has extra, but you don't get to the program center the first week.
• If you have dust allergies, bring a dust cover for your pillow, as well as scarves and handkerchiefs. All of India is dusty, and it just get worse after the rainy season ends.
• Make sure your family knows that you won't be able to contact them for the first couple of weeks because wifi is hard to come by. Once classes start, though, it's pretty easy to Skype from the program center.
• Bring a poncho if you're coming in the rainy season. They're not easy to find here but they're really useful.
• Bring a laptop running either a new version of Windows or a Mac, as internet access is only reliable (well, as reliable as anything is in India) when compatible with those systems. And make sure you bring a computer; it's practically impossible to get by without one.
• Bring movies and other digital entertainment already on your hard drive. Internet access is rarely unlimited (bandwidth-wise), so downloading can be difficult.

Notes to Make Things Easier Earlier

• Small change (anything less than a 500) is hard to come by; make change in every shop you can; conversely, many shops will not have change for a 500 rupee note or bigger (even though it's less than $10). Both Uttara and Shela (who work for the program) will often have change as well. Don't risk going places without change; it can make rickshaw interactions very difficult.
• Even if the program says they have contacted your host family about something, call anyway to make sure. Oftentimes communications don't go through quickly.
• You will have to miss class early on for police registration or sickness, but the professors expect this so it is okay. Despite the fact that the program asks you to confirm that you'll prioritize academics, you won't be able to always.
• Find a WiFi cafe that you like early on, because you probably will not have access at home and the program center's is unreliable. The Chocolate Room has fast wifi but slow and expensive service, and no wifi on weekends. CocoBerry has slower wifi but is more consistent. There are also plenty of CyberCafes but you won't be able to use your own devices as they're wired connections.
• The Alliance program does not allow students to use their printer, and nearby printer shops don't open until after your first two classes. For anything you need to print for class (which you will quite often) you'll have to plan ahead to make sure you have time to print.
• For lunch food: There's not a lot of time to go to restaurants on Ferguson College Road between classes; the only ones you can be sure will serve you in time are Wadeshewar and Roopali, which are both close. However, the Gokhale canteen has cheap Indian lunch food served family ste, and the Ferguson College canteen (which is through the gate right by the entrance to Gokhale) has a la carte snacks and lunch food on the cheap.

Academic Advice
  I wrote a post already on choices for classes.

On Internships, Research, and Film

•   The program is really great with finding things that seem perfect, but in practice it's often quite inconsistent. Some internships keep you busy doing useful work, but quite often NGOs really have no idea what to do with you. Research tends to be even more this way, which can be frustrating.
• Both internships and research generally involve interviewing people and talking about your findings from those interviews. If you're lucky, your organization will find you people to interview (often who are already associated with your organization). Otherwise, however, your faculty advisor will be able to help.
• For interviewing a lot of people, you'll need a translator. Most are students at local colleges, and all are provided by the Alliance. Working with a translator is a great experience to have, especially if you're planning on doing work internationally in the future.
• Documentary Film, like most big projects, starts out pretty slow and then gets to be very hectic toward the end. As long as you stay on top of things, though, it's less work because it depends less on other people.
• You're told you need to spend 150 hours on your research, internship, or documentary film. You are not likely to spend that much time.

More general advice

• The most important thing in India is to be as open as possible to new experiences and to reserve judgement. You'll be exposed to a lot that's uncomfortable, both physically and emotionally. The good thing is, the other people in the program are going through similar experiences, and they'll form a good social network.
• There's a lot of really great festivals (at least toward the beginning of the fall program). Ask your host families (especially host siblings if you have them) how they celebrate, and try and go out with Indian friends to see as much of the festival as possible. Ganapati, for example, turns into an awesome dance party.
• Find extra things to do out in Pune. For example, my friend Casey has gone on several treks with trekking clubs in Pune, and has been able to make friends with lots of people outside of the program. Other friends have used things like Tinder and going out in Koregaon Park (which is pretty far and relatively expensive) to meet other people in the city (often Europeans who are working in the tech sector or volunteering).
• If you can, travel over weekends. While places like Varanasi and Goa are a bit of a stretch to do in a two-day weekend (though with a couple hundred dollars you can fly and see things), there's plenty to do that's a bit closer. The Ajanta and Ellora caves (near Aurangabad in Maharashtra) are cool, as is Mumbai if you like large cities. Some of us have been able to squeeze Bangalore or Hampi (a temple site in Karnataka, which is the state south of Maharashtra) in a weekend, though that's a bit of a stretch.
• On the other hand, there's a lot to see in Pune itself. There's Agakhan Palace,  Vetal Tekdi (which has a beautiful quarry lake and a tower from which there's a gorgeous view of Pune), good street shopping along Laxmi road, and night life in Koregaon Park. There's also lots of events that happen throughout the year.
• Regardless, make sure to take some time to relax. India is super stressful, and sometimes you just need a weekend to relax and decompress without doing much. I've had those weekends as well, and they're welcome.