Spencer Center staff member Kelsey Bantel sat down with Indian exchange students Abirame and Jebisha to explore some of their favorite things about India and the U.S.
- What is your favorite thing about your hometown?
- I would definitely say food. That is the first thing that comes to mind. Other than that, I think it is a very culturally rich place. There is always some sort of celebration going on.
- Personally, I’m a very social person, so I like the relationships that exist between the communities we live in. For example, if I meet a random person on the street I would not address them randomly. If they are an older male I would address them as “brother,” and if they are an older female I would address them as “sister.” That really makes you feel at home wherever you go in India.
- What is your favorite thing about Lady Doak?
- For both of us, one thing that really pulled us towards later college was the study abroad program. Other than that Lady Doak College (LDC) generally has a lot of programs that help you develop in your own area of talent. It provides a lot of initiatives that focus on improving leadership qualities in students. We have peer coaching classes where if you are good at a subject you can go ahead and teach your juniors, which will help you learn and understand your subject more. There are many types of clubs, such as women’s empowerment clubs, peace clubs, Centre for Music, International Study Center, and clubs for each major. Plus as it’s a women’s college, I feel like it is much more comfortable. You can see the epitome of womanhood.
- What have you found is the biggest difference between Lady Doak and Mary Baldwin?
- There are fewer restrictions here in MBU. Especially in the dress codes, it was one of the first things I noticed.
- At LDC students aren’t allowed to go outside the dorm after 8 pm. We have a curfew so after 8 pm, they will lock the doors and the key will be with the RA. So it is very liberating for me here. Like the other day, we went out to meet our host parents, we came back at 12:30-1 am, and there was no one to question us. It will be a tough change for me to go back to LDC and get accustomed there. I also feel like the people here respect your boundaries. In India, you have less personal space. People have very strong bonds with each other hence people get into your business a lot which is both a boon and a curse. Boon because you won’t ever feel lonely and you’ll always feel like people are there to support you. Curse because it can be overwhelming to have someone getting involved in your life.
- If you could bring one thing from India to the U.S. what would it be?
- Food! That was the ultimate change for me. I was never a picky eater in India, so I thought this would be no big difference for me. But everything from the way it’s cooked to the spices used is so different. It took me a week or so to get used to the things here. It’s a good thing they give us a lot of options to choose from.
- What has been your favorite thing about the U.S. so far?
- I really like the club activities they have had for us so far. We attended a vision board activity and the Galentine’s Day special. Personally, I am a very introverted person, so I don’t generally initiate conversation but within a week of being here, I could see that I developed a lot of extroverted traits. Because people compliment you as a way to say hi and they hold small talk, I think I am more confident in starting conversations now.
- Give us your best pitch for visiting Lady Doak.
- As a woman when you enter LDC you will get a lot of opportunities for you to develop economically as well as personally. The college encourages startup businesses by students. If you are making cookies, key chains, or anything, they have a separate counter where you can put up your things and people will buy them from you. It really boosts your business and gives you a sense of self. And we have a lot of clubs as mentioned earlier, there’s a Red Ribbon club, a Red Cross club, and a library service program club, and every club has a hierarchy of student leaders maintaining them. It is one of the best places where you can develop leadership qualities.
- We have something called Student Cabinet members, which I am a part of. Every single major program that we conduct (Inter college meets and Interdepartmental meets) we invite 20+ other colleges, and is conducted by students, everything from finding sponsors, inviting different colleges formally, organizing chief guests and judges for the competitions that’ll be held, to fixing a theme for the event and decorating the stage on that theme are done by the Student cabinet members. The college will not sponsor us, so we approach various companies and they’ll exhibit their ads in exchange for sponsor funding. So it is one of the best places to develop Business experiences. People are also very welcoming.
