The Bull Temple in Bangalore - picture by Marc_Smith
Do you remember the first time you studied abroad? I don’t – cause, unfortunately, I didn’t – but it seems to be the moment of change for many travelers. It is that time when you realize how awesome and inspiring traveling is, and decide that is what you want to do! As a part of my series on the Sister Cities of San Francisco, I interviewed Adriane and Jennifer who are spending a semester in Bangalore, India. Bangalore isn’t the first place most people think of when traveling to India, but they were given the opportunity to go there as part of the relationship between the Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion and the National Institute of Fashion Technology, which was created to celebrate the Sister City relationship between San Francisco and Bangalore. I spoke with Edith Barker, Public Relations and Special Projects Manager for the School of Fashion, previously about this exiting, new program. I was really interested in interviewing Adriane and Jennifer because they’re pretty new to this whole traveling abroad thing. I still vividly remember the excitement and nervousness I felt on my first trip abroad, and wanted to share theirs!
Overall, how has your time in Bangalore been? Have you been enjoying yourselves?
Adriane and Jennifer: There have been really great moments and really difficult ones. Lets begin with the difficult ones to end on a positive note… the second week here on campus we both got ill ( fever, body ache, chills, headache etc) after a few days Adriane got better when I just got worse. After about a two week ordeal and about ten hospital visits, it was finally confirmed that I had Dengue Fever. Shortly after Dengue I then got two ear infections in the same ear and that required more hospital visits. Medical care here in India is very time consuming and can be rather difficult. ( I was misdiagnosed various times before confirming that it was Dengue then when we found out what it was: there is was no treatment) On the better note we have had great experiences such as visiting Sree Murugan Traders dealer in cotton, viscose,rayon & fancy yarns when sourcing materials for our weaving class. There we really got to experience Indian hospitality, the owner was generous enough to not only give us a full tour of his facility but of his home as well. We spent over an hour talking about sourcing and production in the industry and how schools in India are forgetting to teach students important key elements such as dealing with production ( i.e thread count, spun and filament yarns ). This experience was one that we will never forget. You can watch a video Jennifer took in the factory here.
What made you want to studying in Bangalore? Have either of you traveled or lived abroad before?
Adriane: India is essentially known as the birth place of textiles, so of course I jumped at the opportunity. What a better place to learn than where a trade was developed and is the go to place for the industry both commercially and technological wise. Another reason for wanting to come was a love and appreciation for the food and culture as a whole. In high school I fell in love with a Bollywood marathon playing on TMC and since then I had a fascination with the music, fashion, dancing, religion, and food. I even picked up some basic Hindi words from watching so many Hindi films.
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to Mexico and China before coming to India, so, I had an idea of what to expect. I am constantly comparing my experience in Bangalore to Mexico due to the fact that all the food is made fresh, the living conditions are also very similar you have all classes from poor to rich and the atmosphere of each community is very different, but of course as a different country there will always be differences. I can say that if I had never been to either of those countries my transition to moving from the States to India would have been a total culture shock.
Jennifer: India was my first actual trip abroad, so having this experience first and foremost does make me feel like I can now go anywhere and feel confident. I was mainly interested in the study abroad program because India is considered the birthplace of textiles so learning techniques that have been used from the beginning really caught my attention.
Commercial Street in Bangalore - photo by gregor_y
Tell us more about studying abroad – what do you love and hate about it?
Adriane: First of all its really difficult to source special school materials in a new country. Trying to find materials with the names you know them by is difficult because they have different names in India, also not everyone speaks English so sometimes its near impossible to find what you are looking for without a local friend. Another factor is safety, being a woman you have to make sure you get back to your living quarters early or be with a trusting male to avoid any sexual assault. Also, staring is huge in Bangalore, at first you think it’s just you, but everyone just always stares and it’s only in Bangalore because we traveled to various parts of India and it’s only been an issue here. I once had a full conversation with a school faculty member and during half of the conversation she stared at my breasts and I was not wearing anything revealing either. People will also randomly come up to you and ask you why you are wearing Indian clothing or have pimples on your face and once you answer walk away, so there is definitely no sense of shame or embarrassment to ask impersonal questions. It can be very emotionally draining to also be pursued by venders because as foreigners you are hassled a lot more because the common misconception is that we are made out of money, which can also lead for you to get ripped off more often- especially when you don’t know the actual value or cost of a particular item or service. As a food lover I love how inexpensive food can be depending on where you go. Also as a girl, the great deals on shopping are amazing here, but its definitely easier to forget your limits with the deals you can score. I love going on little adventures, exploring the city is always fun and going to the movies, mall, or traveling is always enjoyable, not to mention being invited to the amazing elaborate Indian weddings. I love the amount of stories I have to share about my whole experience here. I love that this whole experience has also made me grow as an individual not only mentally, but emotionally and spiritually. My appreciation for so many things I didn’t realize I took for granted has increased so much on this experience alone. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that not everyone gets hot water for a shower or lives in a house.
Jennifer: Studying abroad is great when you think about it as a concept but it has definitely proven to be much harder than I could have imagined. I am originally from the east coast so studying in San Francisco was far but putting yourself in another country and having to deal with cultural differences; really is an eye opener. Its great to be traveling, seeing another country and how people live but I would have to say I hate that being from the United States makes safety an issue here especially for women.
Why do you think San Francisco and Bangalore became Sister Cities? Do you see any similarities between the two?
Adriane and Jennifer: Being that Academy of Art is one of the top art schools in the US. it had already been doing a study abroad program for numerous departments ( one being France for Fashion ) it was really only a matter of time before they would find a program for the textiles department and India was the most logical choice. The only similarities the schools have is that they are art schools. Academy of Art drives it self on self exploration and pushing yourself to develop new and innovative ideas based on your inspiration vs. National Institute of Fashion Technology pushes their students to learn their trades traditionally for them to be used in the industry.
What do you miss the most about San Francisco?
Adriane: I miss absolutely everything about San Francisco. The thought of San Francisco even brings tears to my eyes, but speaking from a school based standard I miss the faculty and campus life most.
Jennifer: Everything! It has been a big adjustment by far. Our teachers back home are more like family and of course home cooked meals are always in our thoughts.
What will you miss the most about Bangalore?
Adriane and Jennifer: We will miss fresh fruit juices, sweet lassi’s, and the luxury of being about to sit a restaurant and have a starter, meal and dessert without breaking my budget.
Any tips for people traveling to Bangalore? What are you favorite places to hangout or grab a bite to eat?
Adriane and Jennifer: Depends for why your traveling in India. India is so large and vast that each place you visit will give you a different vibe. Delhi is where shopaholics go; Goa is beaches and more of a colonial architecture- not to mention tropical weather. Rajastan is more what you invision as a royal Indian experience due to the fact that you can camel ride around the famous Rajput architecture associated with the known Maharajas. Bangalore is more business associated of course there are sights to see here but if you are traveling for fun, Northern India has more of what you’d expect.
As students from the states we would gravitate to places such as Sunny’s, Juice Junction, Hard Rock Cafe and InfinitTea for foods that didn’t have Indian influence such as spices. (It can be difficult to handle the spices for breakfast, lunch and dinner after about the first month you start to crave familiar foods from home.)
Indian Cuisine: When in India all Indian cuisine will be great (except for roadside restaurants) – Here are some of our favorite place: Bayleaf, Korma (a vegetarian place in central Bangalore) and Mugal’s Treat (a restaurant close to campus).
Fast Food: Oddly enough Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut & Papa Johns are great places for tasty pizza and salads (taste even better than they would back home).
Quick Tip: When in Bangalore take the Green and Yellow Rickshaws and always go by meter to prevent overcharging!
Has this experience inspired you? Any amazing trips planned for the near future?
Adriane and Jennifer: We would definitely consider traveling more in the future. The great thing is that this experience will show to our future employers that we are willing to go anywhere to further our careers. Honestly, we think each country is special for its own unique culture so if I can I will try to visit as many as I can.
Thanks so much to Adriane and Jennifer for sharing their experiences with us! You can read more about their adventures at Jennifer’s blog, Jengalore, or at the Academy of Art University’s Fashion School Daily. And if you’d like to see some of their work, you can visit Adriane and Jennifer’s personal websites.
(photo credits: Marc_Smith – gregor_y)
13 comments
2 pings
ayngelina says:
November 6, 2010 at 6:33 am (UTC -7)
I didn’t study abroad either but now I really wish I had.
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Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 12, 2010 at 5:01 pm (UTC -7)
I knooow…feel the same way.
Cathy Sweeney says:
November 6, 2010 at 2:09 pm (UTC -7)
I would have loved to study abroad. It seems that Adriane and Jennifer have been having a wonderful experience that can change their lives, even though there are some downsides. I can’t say that I would have thought about Bangalore before as a place to study abroad, but it is a very interesting choice.
Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 12, 2010 at 5:05 pm (UTC -7)
Yeah, that’s why I was interested in talking with them…I never hear too much about Bangalore.
Bethany says:
November 7, 2010 at 7:05 pm (UTC -7)
Not studying abroad is one of my only regrets! It’s great to read about their adventure. I so wish I had done something similar during college. I’m glad they are having a good time but that really sucks about the Dengue Fever – scary!
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Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 12, 2010 at 5:17 pm (UTC -7)
Getting sick abroad is one of my least favorite things ever…it’s missing the comfort factor that you have at home.
Dina says:
November 11, 2010 at 9:20 pm (UTC -7)
Studying abroad in India sounds exotic and fun indeed. I studied abroad when I was in university. It was a year exchange student program. I totally grateful I had that opportunity, because it’s totally change my life dramatically: I met Ryan
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Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 12, 2010 at 5:07 pm (UTC -7)
You studied abroad in Japan, right? I would of loved to do that! And it’s pretty adorable that you and Ryan met there.
Kerry-ann says:
November 14, 2010 at 8:39 pm (UTC -7)
wow, my husband worked in Bangalore for a couple of weeks and would give me these continous updates. I can’t imagine what it must have been like living and studying there. A baptisim of fire for a first time traveller! I would absolutely love to visit India – so thanks for all the tips.
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Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 20, 2010 at 2:35 pm (UTC -7)
Totally agree – definitely isn’t a place I think of when talking about studying abroad and I’m quite impressed with Jennifer and Adriane’s ability to take everything in stride…not sure I could do it so easily!
LeslieTravel says:
November 17, 2010 at 9:46 pm (UTC -7)
Interesting interview! Thanks for sharing
LeslieTravel recently posted..Photo Essay- The 20th Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade
Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
November 20, 2010 at 2:31 pm (UTC -7)
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Tom says:
August 5, 2011 at 9:15 pm (UTC -7)
I really wish I’d taken the chance to study abroad while I was at uni. Studying in India sounds like it’s an amazing experience! Can’t wait to finally visit there – and bring on the spices for breakfast, lunch and tea!
Great interview, Ashley!
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[...] interviews on the following Sister Cities: Phil in the Blank on Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Adriane and Jennifer on Bangalore, India Runaway Juno on Seoul, South Korea Vagabond Quest on Sydney, Australia BUT am still looking for [...]