I’m studying in India this fall. I’ll be near the southern point of India in the city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), which is located in the state of Kerala. My flight leaves Chicago on Aug. 27. One layover, 23 hours and a nine and a half hour time difference later, I will arrive in Thiruvananthapuram on Aug. 29.

I will spend the first two weeks of the trip traveling the state of Kerala with the IISAC program, which consists of myself, my good friend Allyson, Sarah from Maryland, whom I’ve emailed but not yet met and our program director Dr. Sunny Luke.

We have a week-long break in the middle of the semester to travel to northern India to see Agra (that’s where the Taj Mahal is), New Delhi and Jaipur. The rest of the time will be spent taking classes at Mar Ivanios College, University of Kerala. Am I ready? Ready as I’ll ever be.

I have given that spiel time and time again. Virtually every person I’ve told this to in the recent months has had the same response, “Why India?” It was not a decision that I made lightly. When I decided to study abroad about a year and a half ago I had no idea where I wanted to go, but I knew what I wanted out of my experience: I needed to go somewhere vastly different from West Michigan. It is beautiful here, but I’ve never lived anywhere else, and I need to truly immerse myself in a culture that is completely ‘other’ in order to learn, grow and open my mind as much as possible.

I talked to everyone I could think of—the Padnos International Center, professors, coworkers, other students, family and friends. Most were too Western, but there were a few suggestions that stuck out. I remembered one of my favorite professors singing the praises of the Philippines, an article I read about a Grand Valley State University student studying in India and another student whose eyes glowed when she spoke of her time in Thailand. My mind kept being drawn back to Southeast Asia.

Ultimately, it was the religious aspect that got me stuck on India. I study sociology and statistics, and the sociology of religion is particularly interesting to me. No matter what other places I looked into, they could not compare to being the birthplace of four major religions—Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism—that are so different from the ones I’ve been surrounded by for the last 20 years. The wide array of eastern religions, rich culture and delicious food—what more could I want? My heart was being pulled toward India.

I contacted PIC and asked if they could send an email with my contact information to other students who had studied there. Throughout the summer and school year, those students provided me with stories, advice and support that I’m not sure I could have gotten any other way. Although they may not realize it, they were a huge help in solidifying my decision and reassuring me that I had made the correct one.

They made me realize that I did not only want to go, I needed to.

So in just a few short days, I’m picking up my backpacks and leaving everything that is familiar to embark on this four-month-long adventure. Roughly each week, I will be writing back to you all at home, updating you on my experience.

Wish me luck!