I never thought I would say it, but I am getting accustomed to the instability of life abroad! There is routine in newness and routine in everything for that matter. I asked the Tufts representative who visited my high school what a couple of adjectives that could describe the “typical” Tufts student would be? And what do you think she said, “There is no typical Tufts student. We pride ourselves on diversity” blah blah blah. As I watched the student-made video for IHP before departing they gleefully exclaimed, “There is no typical day on IHP!” I think this is somewhat ridiculous because there are prevailing themes, but I also agree. Of course there is no ONE student who attends a large university or a singular typical day on a fast-paced non-routine study abroad program, but we can describe the similarities between each instance. Saying “there is no typical x y or z” is saying nothing of detail or interest about it. It is meaningless. It is like the word “unique.” My high school English teacher always said, never use the word unique because nothing is unique and everything is unique, so what does it truly mean? It gives no meat to the sought after juicy description of something. Let me tell you about a “typical” day on IHP and a “typical” IHP student for that matter. This Sunday morning I woke up with Hannah and Rae, ate complimentary breakfast at the hotel and went back to bed. Sidney texted me that she was running to the beach to see if I wanted to come. Ian joined too. We exited the hotel ran for 3 km and found ourselves out of Hoi An and surrounded by lush green rice paddies. There were wading water buffalo, and cattle and stray dogs and cats. Many tourists rented bikes or went with tour guides and passed us as we ran. My friends kept running and I began to walk getting farther behind. A Vietnamese man told me to hop on his bike and we would catch up and then pass them. I jumped on the kickstands and sat close behind him, holding his back. The wind was blowing and the weather was perfectly mild and a little cloudy. We glided past them. I was so happy to see the surprised look on their faces as I soared ahead with my new friend. Everyone was cracking up. I got off and we continued our adventure to the beach. Upon 2 more km of walking and discussions of music and memories and home, we arrived. We taxied home and rinsed off. Ian and I went to vegetarian for lunch and reflected on the trip thus far. I went home and fully showered, packed my backpack and headed to the tailor. Hoi An is known for their tailors that make handmade fit-to-body-self-designed clothing. We have spent a good amount of money and time in the stores and designing our newest clothes. I headed to pick up my jumpsuit and ran into my roommate and other friends in the store. I then headed to the next store to pick up my other jumpsuit and ran into more friends. I found a wifi café and I am sitting alone on the back patio under a plant covered awning typing. A typical weekday is similar to this weekend day in a lot of ways, but consists of site visits and lectures and academic discussions. A typical IHP day is filled with new new new. As travel is. It is full of things I have never envisioned or thought about and an open-mindedness that is very refreshing and revitalizing. A typical IHP day is exhausting and stimulating. Jampacked. I love it. But I definitely needed time to adjust and find how to make this insane lifestyle sustainable and balanced. That balance comes from making each new place my home and assimilating as best I can and running and eating what I like and finding the little things that remind me of home and make me happy. Because for all the new and all the visual shape shifting, there is lots of old in every new place. And every new place has familiar parts to it. A typical IHP student has many different interests; wants to talk, wants to learn, wants to listen and wants to explore. I am very lucky to be surrounded by a group of people so willing to do something out of the usual and out of their comfort zones. People are constantly doing things and learning things and sharing. It is a very eventful lifestyle to say the least. This is similar in many ways to college or Bard. I believe there is a typical IHP day and a typical IHP student. The days are sporadic and intense and the people are too. Ha just kidding, the people are welcoming and excited. These naps have been really paying off.
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