When the going gets tough...

The truth is - life as an international student can be pretty harsh sometimes. It can be tough to look around and feel a little alienated, or to find oneself in a crowd full of people one can barely relate to.

Fall break has been going on; and while for many students, fall break is synonymous with going home and spending four days with friends and family, for most international students, it just means staying on a deserted campus, and trying to find something fun to do.
I have had a rough weekend, and the fact that my family lives on the other side of the globe only makes it worse.
But the most amazing part about being in college is that somewhere down the road, we all find ourselves a family, and for me, my friends are my family!

So while I sat in the Dining Hall today, thinking about how mundane the past two days had been, my absolutely awesome hall-mate, Reilly Mahan, came up with the random idea of walking all the way to Traveller's Rest downtown and back...and that's where it all began -

•  TWO GIRLS ON A MISSION - 

It started out as a mere idea, grew into a challenge, and ended up with excruciating body pain.
Yes, that was our walk to the Travelers Rest downtown and back, and it approximately took us some three hours! By the end of the journey, Reilly and I couldn't feel our legs. Or any other body part, for that matter.
But on the bright side, we didn't die!

The journey we will never forget - Swamp Rabbit Trail

On our walk back from Travelers Rest , I received a text from this AWESOME international kid, Johnson, asking if we would like to join him to eat at an Indian restaurant called "Handi".
Now, that was the real challenge. We were sweating, we couldn't feel our legs, but we were definitely not going to miss the chance to eat some delicious food!

Johnson's message literally gave us the hope to carry on. I swear, if it wasn't for him, we would have passed out right there on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

• DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE -

As soon as we got back to our rooms, we dressed up to leave for downtown Greenville.
We took a cab, hopped off at the Greenlink bus stop, and went to experience the 'Fall for Greenville' festival.

It was crazy! The influx of people only made it appear like a mayhem!
But it was really exciting for me since I had never seen that side of Greenville before.

With friends as fabulous as Johnson and Reilly, one can only expect to be entertained and have a blast, which, of course, I had.

• FALLS PARK

Since I hadn't seen the Falls Park, we decided to go there first, and it was absolutely beautiful!

Johnson & Reilly - the awesome duo!

•  PHOTO-BOMBING-

While I took pictures of the festival, Reilly and Johnson decided to photo-bomb!

 

• INDIAN FOOD-

Finally, we decided to sit down for dinner at Handi. We ate our hearts out, and Reilly and me consumed back all the calories we had burned, because that's just how we roll.

Keeping it classy

Honestly, I really don't know what would have I done without these people! While being miles away from my family can be agonizing sometimes, wonderful people like Reilly and Johnson keep reminding me of how I have found a family right here, at Furman, and how I can turn my day around with them anytime!

Thank you guys! You truly are awesome!

I hope you all have been having a wonderful fall break with your family back home or right here at Furman!

Until my next post,
Warm love
Bhavya

bhavya.sharma@furman.edu