What Were Some of Your Concerns Before the Trip

Overall I feel like I was really well prepared to go to India .  The study abroad office did a really good job orienting me toward the country and the culture.  I was nervous about the language barrier I was told that a lot of people there do speak enough English that I would be ok but I was nervous because I don’t speak any Indian languages.  I was also nervous about the food because I have never had Indian food before I went and I don’t generally like spicy foods.

I guess my biggest concern was about the availability and the quality of their health resources.  I didn’t understand what their attitudes toward psychiatric disorders was before I went so if I could do it all over again I would have probably researched that a little bit more.

I had a little bit of a problem getting enough medication to cover the two months that I was going to be there because some of the pharmacists in my area were a little apprehensive about giving me that much medication at once but my psychiatrist um spoke with the pharmacist and it all got worked out.  One thing to remember is to keep your medication in the prescription bottle so that it can go through customs.

What Are Some Things You Wish You Knew Before the Trip?

I feel I was really well prepared when I went abroad.  The Study Abroad Office did a really good job with the orientation letting me know what to expect in terms of the culture.  However, I wish I could have talked to somebody who had bipolar disorder and studied abroad before I left because I feel like they could have put me at ease a little bit more and made me feel more comfortable about it because I really wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to make it the whole time.  I was really nervous about that and I would have liked to have heard its going to be ok.

What Were Some Difficulties You Faced?

The hardest time for me was actually before I left.  I was very worried about the logistics of the what ifs that popped up, what if I missed my plane in Germany, and who would I call if that happened, and what if my party didn’t show up at the airport to pick me up, what if my luggage got lost, so I ended up calling the study abroad office a lot to ask all of my questions.  The week before I left I got really stressed out and worried about spending two months in a foreign country without my mom because I had never done that before and I kinda shut down.  I got a little bit sick but once I actually left and started traveling I was fine the first week was really hard. I had a single room so I was alone a lot of the time.  I didn’t know anyone else who was going on the trip before I went and I really was a huge culture shock.  I wasn’t really expecting so it was very difficult.

The week before I left I started getting really nervous and worried about whether or not I could spend two months in a foreign country without my family or my doctor.  I kind of shut down I wouldn’t talk about the trip I was making myself sick, but once I actually started traveling I was fine.

The first week was also really hard because I didn’t yet understand the culture, I didn’t know anyone else who was on the trip yet and I was put in a room by myself so I was alone a lot of the time.  It was hard to get a hold of my family and my doctor because of the time difference there so that made things difficult but I started to get to know people and make friends and it got a lot easier.

Another challenge was the cultural differences that I encountered while I was there.  Two of the ones that were hardest for me were the extreme poverty that I saw and also the treatment of some of the people there. For example, when we were in Jaipur we were in a car and a young boy came up to our car and tapped on the window begging for money.  Another man who was older and was also a beggar came over and hit the young boy over the head so hard that he fell over and started crying. No one seemed to notice and no one would stop and help him, and it was really hard for me to keep these things from affecting me and upsetting me.

How Did You Deal With These Challenges?

To cope with these challenges I used my therapist a lot before I went.  The month before I left for India I met with my therapist at least once a week and we talked about all sorts of situations that could arise and how I should handle them and it really helped me to keep a clear head while I was there.  The study abroad office was also very helpful.  I called them all the time with all sorts of questions about contact information and what should do if this happens and they were always very patient with me and very helpful.  I guess I wasn’t the first person to have those questions. 

My family was also a huge support network for me especially my mother.  I guess a lot of people probably thought she was crazy letting me go to India especially since I have bipolar disorder but she always had confidence in me and her confidence in me has helped me to also have confidence in myself.  Also while I was there, we talked all the time I talked to her probably 3 times a week and she also sent me packages of things to remind me of home like snickers bars.  While I was there I also kept a journal and I think that was probably the best thing I did to help myself cope while I was in India because it really helped me work through some things and its nice to look back and reflect on it now.

How Did Others Handle Your Disability

I really didn’t talk about it while I was there.  I didn’t tell anyone about it while I was there.  I handled it mostly on my own because I was a little bit afraid of what people, even the other Americans that were there, would say so I really I’m not sure.  They seemed very welcoming and they were very friendly I can’t imagine that they would have anything would have you know I don’t know I really don’t know.

What Was the Most Memorable Aspect of Your Trip?

The memorable aspect of my study abroad experience was most definitely the people that I met while I was in India .  They were so honest and so warm and so open.  I just felt so welcomed all the time.  A really good example would be the preprimary education teachers that I worked with for a project for one of my classes.  The first day that I met them and interviewed them they shared their own lunches with me and then throughout the weeks I worked with them they taught me songs and gave me dessert recipes.  They asked me to critique their teaching methods they asked me about the American education policy and they were so open and they were so warm and so welcoming there was just something very endearing about everyone that I met there.

When we were at the Taj Mahal, we got there at 7 o’clock in the morning and it was really misty and it was really early and there weren’t that many people there.  So it was us and this group of about 30 Buddhist monks from Thailand and we kept looking at them because we were very interested in meeting them and they kept looking at us because I think they were very interested in meeting us.  And so eventually we just kind of got together and took pictures together and it was really cool.  It was a very cool experience. 

How Did Your Experience Change You?

My study abroad experience absolutely effected how I cope with bipolar disorder.  I learned a lot about myself in India because I was forced to handle situations that I never expected and I gained a lot of confidence in myself.  I never think to myself anymore “I don’t know if I can handle that.”  It was the scariest and the most challenging thing I’ve ever done and it turned out to be the best experience of my life.

It really made me rethink my goals in life and what I want to do with my life.  Before I went to India I was very focused on linguistics and anthropology and I wanted to go in to the academic filed and I went to India and I saw stuff that I really wasn’t ready to see and it kind of made me shift my goals in life to more service oriented things.  I’m now… I want to join the Peace Corps when I graduate and I would like to go into public service of some sort.

What Kinds of Advice Would You Give to Other Students?

I would advise other with psychiatric disorders to ask questions not only is it going to make you feel so much more comfortable and much more at ease but you’re also not the only person to ask them so don’t feel silly about that.  Also do some research on the country you’re going to and their attitudes towards mental health and psychiatric disorders that way if there are any problems you can work them out before you get there and the study abroad office will probably be able to help you with that a lot. 

I would also advise students with psychiatric disorders to bring extra medication.  I ran into the problem of only bringing enough for exactly two months and its always nice to have a little bit extra just in case.

If you can, get a cell phone.  Not only did it make it easier for my mother and my doctor to keep in touch with me, but it also make me feel much more comfortable going out and exploring India because I knew that if I had any problems I had a cell phone.  I could just call someone and they could come help me out.  Also stay in touch with your therapist and keep him updated on what is going on, and keep a journal because it’s a really great way of reflecting on experiences you have and I helps you get your feelings out in the open and its also great to have later to look back on.

Why Should Others Study Abroad?

Do it.  Just do it.  Study abroad as much as you can you’re not going to get another opportunity to go to so many awesome places once you are out of college so take advantage of it.