Day 100: 100 days of India

100 days of India and here I am saying goodbye to the people I love, the home that became 'home', the streets that we walked down every day and the group we became.

So here are some goodbyes and some thank you's.

Goodbye to the room Carly and I shared for the last two months. Thank you for being way cooler than the rest of the house. Thank you for not letting in the mosquitoes- even though you did let a mouse in last night. Thank you for being the place where I had some of the best conversations with one of my new best friends. :) Thank you.

Thank you awesome balcony for being sunshiny and special and for giving me a scenic place to Skype and to listen to the sounds of urban nature. 

Goodbye beautiful view.

Goodbye Alexis and your adorable phone conversations with your fiance. Thank you for being spunky and taking attention away from us with your redheaded-ness ;)

 Goodbye living room-- where we would gather to eat every meal, where we would attempt to watch movies on our very quiet laptops, where we would play with the baby and enjoy the sounds of the chuckling gecko that lives behind that green curtain. *creepy*

Goodbye Sarah and your beautiful quirkiness. Also goodbye to your very heavy-duty mosquito net. I hope that the next user appreciates the efforts you went through to get that thing to India. I will miss you until you come visit me in the TA office like old times. Thanks for convincing me to come to India this semester :) 

Goodbye food. Goodbye Durga's cooking. Goodbye pile of bananas, grapes and pomegranate that were always available. 

Goodbye beautiful Sillu and her sassiness. I will miss her teasing, and those cute little moments when she grabs my hand! She is beautiful and brilliant and I wish I could express how much I love her. I think of her as my "Akka" (big sister) even though she is younger-- because she took care of us way more than we know.

Goodbye Rajya Lakshmi and her willingness to take me on interviews every day. I could NEVER have done (or enjoyed) my research without her. Her boldness and fearlessness got us into so many doors. Ps. I think its so cute when she tries to hide from the sun.

Goodbye Mumu and thank you for teaching me how to be comfortable holding a baby. Thank you for eventually laughing and smiling at me even though the other girls were way better with you than I was. Thanks for hanging out with me today and pulling my hair and trying to eat me because I think that means you like me now!

 Thank you mango season for coming just in time for us to have our first Indian mangos! Goodbye to fresh fruit, eating with my hands and hanging out with this little guy.

Goodbye ceiling fan. It really was our salvation this last month. I really would have died without it. 

 Goodbye humidity that made my hair grow two inches in four months. 

Goodbye porch--where the translators and Dr. Krishnayya would hang out every day patiently waiting for us to give them work. Thank you for being a breezy location to escape the heat of power cuts.

Goodbye classroom and all the frustrating Telugu-learning moments. But also thank you for being the place where we banded together and helped each other at least learn to read Telugu. haha

Goodbye Sushila-- my favourite informant. Thank you for being an example of generosity and independence. Sushila always opened her house to me and answered my questions. I will keep in touch with her :)

Goodbye Vara-Lakshmi. Thank you for finally warming up to us. And thank for the terrific food you make.

Goodbye Izzy. Thanks for being the most faithful street dog around. Stay out of fights k?

Goodbye Bekah, you gorgeous, thoughtful person. Thanks for hosting painting nights, for going to yoga with me, for being so kind and for being positive, always. Have fun in Turkey!

Goodbye Barista café and your delicious chicken tikka paninis. Thank you for being the place we could rely on for great internet, air conditioning and pretty good milkshakes.

Goodbye "Green House"... I feel empty when I think that I might never go back inside that place once we leave. This is Home! Thank you for every moment since getting here.

Even though I really want to go home to see my family and friends, I really don't want to leave India. I wish it was a skip away from America-- a place I could travel back to easily. One day I will be back-- I can't see how I could stay away. But for now I will keep my memories and I will forever be thankful for the things I learned here. India, your country is beautiful and all I hoped it would be.

Bye. For now. 

Love, 

Stéf

Ps. We go to Goa in the morning. So bye blog readers. Thanks for following my adventure. I love you guys and I'll see you back home!