Namaste!

My blog was initially written for my friends and relatives during my Exchange program / Erasmus in India. More than 200 posts later, this blog provides a mix of advices, information, pictures and personal experiences...

My readership is a lot more diverse than expected. While I was counting on tourists, expatriates and exchange students willing to learn more about India, I was positively surprised by the amount of comments left on my blog by Indians/locals. In addition, this blog gave me the opportunity to join the Belgian delegation in Bangalore.

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One year in India

I have been in India for more than a year (four months in 2005 and the past eight months). Time for some retrospection!

In December 2004, I had to choose my Erasmus (exchange student program) destination. I was quite interested in going to Asia even if I had never heard of any of the Asian universities mentioned on the list. The country definitely prevailed on the brandname. In order to decide on my destination, I sent a few emails to my seniors. I received prompt replies, some positive, some highly negative…

The night preceding the final decision, I dreamt of rats (the rat scene in Orwell’s 1984).

In August 2005, I was on my way to India. I spent four months at IIMB, returned to my country to finish my studies and went back to India in September 2006.

Indians frequently ask me how I like India. First of all, it is an absurd question as India is huge and diverse. Then, no country is good or bad. There are things which I like and others which I dislike.

All in all, I had an incredible time in India and met wonderful people. It was an amazing learning experience including both positive and negative situations. Back in 2004, I would clearly take the same decision… The question is…

…Is it worth prolonging the experience as I still have so much to discover in other parts of the globe?