A Two Week Journey

The Hungarian school system does not even try to foster the joy of togetherness and teamwork. When I was still going to school there, I had to do almost every task (presentation, research, essays, you name it) completely alone, and to be honest it felt pretty good.

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Too Tired to not Laugh

We got back to the hotel at eight after a long demanding day and all I wanted to do was take a warm shower, brush my teeth and head to bed. We did not eat enough today though so everyone planned on heading to the restaurant. My shoes were muddy, clothes wet and hair sweaty so I had a quick shower and changed into some fresh clothes before heading down. The group slowly began to arrive at our regular table but I could tell that I wasn't the only one ready for bed.

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Different Kinds of Joy

On our way down the mountain yesterday, Mr. Mundra, Lucy, and I listened to a Niswarth playlist. I carefully balanced my way down the muddy mountainside, stepping over stones and finding the best footholds for my tired feet. The steady rhythm of my footing, as well as the background music, didn’t provide much space for me to hold a long conversation.

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Simple Joys

The joy of togetherness was simple last week. Each day the Niswarth team would take part in a unique set of life-changing experiences. Our activities stirred up intense emotions, and each evening we would talk, reflect, and work through them together.

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Before and Now

My number one fear about this trip was the idea of traveling to India with strangers. In reality, these people are not strangers to me as we all go to the same school, and at Andover, you feel like you know everyone. But I am an introvert at heart and have always had social anxiety, so talking to anyone I haven’t known the majority of my life can be stressful. I worried I would never feel settled on this trip. 2 weeks later, I couldn’t imagine traveling across the world with anyone else.

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A Network of Fears

I woke up on Tuesday morning with a knot in my stomach. It didn't stem from my stomach problems of the day before, but worse thoughts were running through my mind at the moment. I got dressed to go to the gym anyways, but called my dad before I went and confirmed my fears.

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