The Carnival in Ahmadabad is an experience to remember for a good number of us arrived early hours on Sunday the 28th. Please Share your thoughts about your experience as well as your first impressions of India.
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Jordan Zola
on December 29, 2014 at 1:01 pm
Today’s carnival gave us a true taste of India and Ahmedabad. We immediately became the major spectacle at Ahmedabad’s Christmas carnival, where we were stared at and even followed as we walked through the crowd. As we stopped to take a picture near the lake at sunset, our photographer was surrounded by a crowd of locals, all pulling out their phones to snap photos of us. Never have I been in such crazy crowds, and as the policemen began to close off the walkway in one direction of the traffic flow we were almost separated from each other! Without any means of contacting the rest of the group, we were terrified and desperate to get through to the other side. Thanks to Soni’s ability to speak Hindi and the fact that we were obviously very scared tourists, we made it out without a scratch. By the time we came to the bustling intersection amidst more staring and pointing, we were definitely very shaken and ready to head back to MICA at the quiet outskirts of the city. What a welcome to India!
At 3AM this morning (after nearly 24 hours of travel time) we arrived in Ahmedabad, India. We finally settled in to our rooms at the MICA University campus and took what felt like a quick nap before we met up for breakfast at 7AM. We spent the morning unpacking, exploring the beautiful campus, and napping. In the afternoon, our hosts took us to a carnival in the heart of Ahmedabad. The carnival was filled with dancing, food, and people. We spent two hours walking around the lake and getting to know each other. As night neared, our group almost got separated from one another in the large crowd. After we safely made it back to our rooms at MICA, we ate tasty chicken curry and quickly fell asleep in preparation of our first official day.
After two long flights and over thirty hours of travel, we have finally arrived in India! Fighting exhaustion and the temptation to sleep, a group of nine of us eagerly set out to explore Ahmedabad at a carnival in the heart of the city. Along the way, we braced ourselves among the chaotic traffic as our taxi shared the road with camels, cows, pedestrians, and rickshaws. We enjoyed our first taste of the culture at the carnival in Ahmedabad, despite the overwhelming crowds. An audience soon gathered as we stopped to take a group photo next to the lake. We quickly learned that as the only group of tourists among thousands, we were a carnival attraction ourselves. After just a few short hours and a quick glance into Indian culture, I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold!
We arrived at Ahmedabad at 3am, and from there our Indian adventure started pretty much immediately. Our cab driver pulled over on the way to MICA campus (where we will be staying) to stop for a chai break, which was completely unexpected. If I hadn’t been able to speak Hindi and ask him why he was stopping, I probably would have been really nervous at that point (since it was about 4:30am at this point). After this short break, we were then on our way to campus, but not without another almost scare. After traveling down a normal highway, our taxi driver suddenly turned into a dark, dirt path. We continued down for a few minutes before pulling into the MICA campus. (We couldn’t see at the time, but the campus is beautiful and very green). After resting all morning, we went to a Christmas festival at a nearby lake. There were so many people (about 10, 000) at this festival. This event was mostly for locals, and we got a lot of stares, which was an interesting experience. At least now I know what it is like to be a celebrity! We then got to experience Ahmedabad like a local, riding an autorickshaw back to campus. We met up with our classmates who had arrived that evening and enjoyed a meal together in the campus canteen. We were all tired from our various journeys, so we called it a night pretty early to prepare for the official beginning of our program tomorrow morning!
Today’s carnival gave us a true taste of India and Ahmedabad. We immediately became the major spectacle at Ahmedabad’s Christmas carnival, where we were stared at and even followed as we walked through the crowd. As we stopped to take a picture near the lake at sunset, our photographer was surrounded by a crowd of locals, all pulling out their phones to snap photos of us. Never have I been in such crazy crowds, and as the policemen began to close off the walkway in one direction of the traffic flow we were almost separated from each other! Without any means of contacting the rest of the group, we were terrified and desperate to get through to the other side. Thanks to Soni’s ability to speak Hindi and the fact that we were obviously very scared tourists, we made it out without a scratch. By the time we came to the bustling intersection amidst more staring and pointing, we were definitely very shaken and ready to head back to MICA at the quiet outskirts of the city. What a welcome to India!
At 3AM this morning (after nearly 24 hours of travel time) we arrived in Ahmedabad, India. We finally settled in to our rooms at the MICA University campus and took what felt like a quick nap before we met up for breakfast at 7AM. We spent the morning unpacking, exploring the beautiful campus, and napping. In the afternoon, our hosts took us to a carnival in the heart of Ahmedabad. The carnival was filled with dancing, food, and people. We spent two hours walking around the lake and getting to know each other. As night neared, our group almost got separated from one another in the large crowd. After we safely made it back to our rooms at MICA, we ate tasty chicken curry and quickly fell asleep in preparation of our first official day.
After two long flights and over thirty hours of travel, we have finally arrived in India! Fighting exhaustion and the temptation to sleep, a group of nine of us eagerly set out to explore Ahmedabad at a carnival in the heart of the city. Along the way, we braced ourselves among the chaotic traffic as our taxi shared the road with camels, cows, pedestrians, and rickshaws. We enjoyed our first taste of the culture at the carnival in Ahmedabad, despite the overwhelming crowds. An audience soon gathered as we stopped to take a group photo next to the lake. We quickly learned that as the only group of tourists among thousands, we were a carnival attraction ourselves. After just a few short hours and a quick glance into Indian culture, I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold!
We arrived at Ahmedabad at 3am, and from there our Indian adventure started pretty much immediately. Our cab driver pulled over on the way to MICA campus (where we will be staying) to stop for a chai break, which was completely unexpected. If I hadn’t been able to speak Hindi and ask him why he was stopping, I probably would have been really nervous at that point (since it was about 4:30am at this point). After this short break, we were then on our way to campus, but not without another almost scare. After traveling down a normal highway, our taxi driver suddenly turned into a dark, dirt path. We continued down for a few minutes before pulling into the MICA campus. (We couldn’t see at the time, but the campus is beautiful and very green). After resting all morning, we went to a Christmas festival at a nearby lake. There were so many people (about 10, 000) at this festival. This event was mostly for locals, and we got a lot of stares, which was an interesting experience. At least now I know what it is like to be a celebrity! We then got to experience Ahmedabad like a local, riding an autorickshaw back to campus. We met up with our classmates who had arrived that evening and enjoyed a meal together in the campus canteen. We were all tired from our various journeys, so we called it a night pretty early to prepare for the official beginning of our program tomorrow morning!
The first part of this video encompasses our first day and time at the winter carnival!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SaWLH3tQYI&feature=youtu.be