It’s Official!

What a day! Today was ’officially’ our first day of orientation in India. We were first greeted by a representative from Department of State and many other affiliates from Fulbright and USIEF. Despite how prim and proper I tried to be for this meeting, I was so tired. For the first time jet-lag hit me hard. During the sessions, I took glances at everyone and you could tell how drained/tired we all were. Like it or not, we had to keep up for the full day of sessions. Aside from the jet-lag  I must say that the food we were provided tasted amazing—oh, Indian food J. The only downer was when during dinner the conversation between me and one of our supervisors fell on how different my experiences will definitely be considering that I am Black/African American. From there she mentioned how I should not be surprised if someone asked me what caste I was in to signify that I must be of a lower caste where I come from (note: darker skinned people = lower castes). I did not know what to think/say at first. I just hope that I at least gain respect from my school, co-workers, and students despite my skin color…why does it even matter??