Days 4-5: Gangnam Style in Pune would be done riding elephants

On Sunday morning after breakfast a group of us (me, Christine, Peter, Oana, Zuzana and Amam) went on a walking tour of the city. We were met at the hotel by Rudraneel, a home student from the university who's helping with the practical aspects of the residential session, and the tour guide. We walked around the Shaniwar Wada fort, which was really interesting to hear about, then walked into the city. On the way a little girl walked with us for a few minutes begging "Hello Madam", then left as we got closer to a temple to Ganesh. We took our shoes off and went inside the temple: there we had to drink water from our right hand and eat some sugar, then we sat in front of the statue with Ganesh with our eyes closed for a few minutes. It was a really peaceful atmosphere. We visited a second temple, passing through the market on the way, then ended in a museum. After a lunch of chutney sandwiches and a banana, Christine and I went shopping to take things back home - the market was interesting, there was very much a walk-on-the-left system in place and often I got shoved to move forward. So that was an experience. In the evening the six of us plus Abdizarak went to a nearby restaurant for dinner to end a nice day off.

On Monday it was back at university for 9am. We began with a seminar on project planning: by Thursday we're expected to formulate a problem which involves mental health, human rights and policy. I came to the course not knowing what exactly I wanted to look into: a few of us were taken aback that we were expected to know what we want to look into at this early stage. Then we had lectures on the social, economic and health burden of mental illness, and on stigma. We held a debate on stigma: the fictional scenario was that a rehabilitation centre for people discharged from a psychiatric hospital was going to open in our town, so we got to talk over a lot of potential issues from the views of residents and care staff. After lunch a man who cares for his daughter with schizophrenia came to talk to us about the challenges he and his family have faced, then the day ended with a short anti-stigma campaign film run in Europe (I'm fairly sure it was from Albania).

By the end of the day I was quite exhausted. On Tuesday morning we were due to leave the hotel at 4am for a flight to Chennai: I'd planned to sleep, but in the end stayed up all night trying to work on an idea for my project. Having changed my mind 3 times, I eventually felt quite pleased with the one I had by 2.15am. By then I saw little point in going to bed when I'd receive a wake-up call at 3am anyway, so I stayed up until it was time to go on our trip.

Day 3: Inaugurated as a student

Having dreamt about taking buses with a schoolfriend, I woke up at 3.30am and couldn't get back to sleep. The last time I saw the clock was 5am: then I heard the phone ring. I answered to hear the reception saying that this was the wake-up call I'd asked for: this was at 6.45am. I explained that I didn't ask for a wake-up call, they apologised and hung up. So I went back to bed for another hour.

Breakfast was quite good: I'm not sure of the names of what I ate, maybe tomorrow I'll take a photo. I got chatting afterwards in the lobby to another student, Elham from Libya, then we were joined by Oana from Romania (living in Hungary), Zuzana from Slovakia (living in the Czech Republic), Christine from Fiji, Peter from Australia, and Veronica from Canada. We were taken by taxis to the university: when we arrived we were invited inside and asked to remove our shoes before going into the conference room. There we were welcomed by the principal and were invited to light candles for the inauguration ceremony. For this, we stood around a font with a replica of a peacock on top of it, and with six or seven candles in its basin. A mix of students and faculty lit a candle each - I didn't get there in time, but it was beautiful to watch. The principal said that this represented the spreading of knowledge.

We then went round and introduced ourselves and our backgrounds. There are thirteen students in all: in addition to the ones already mentioned, I met Abdirazak from Somalia, Michael from Egypt, Kaustubh (the course administrator, now joining as a student), Prerna and Punitha from India, and in the evening we were joined by Amam from Nepal (living in the USA) whose flights had been delayed. Again it appears that I'm the youngest one here, most people I spoke to have children... there're a couple of lawyers, a fair few psychiatrists, other mental health professionals and a mental health user, so a good mix of people. We were given a timetable with the plan for the next two weeks: by the looks of things I'll be in the university from 9am to 6p every day, with a few days where I'm expected to stay until 9pm. Tomorrow is the only day off, and next Sunday we'll have classes from 9am to 2pm. On Tuesday in the early morning we'll fly to Chennai to visit a community mental health project for homeless women, returning on Wednesday night. So this'll certainly be a very full and busy fortnight!

After a tea break (assam tea plus milk is awesome), during which I got to know the other students (according to Peter, in Australia people from England are known as Pomes - Prisoners of Mother England. Who knew?), we were shown how to use the university's computer system for logging into the internet and using the course websites. Then we were told by one of the professors that on Monday we'd hold a debate about stigma regarding mental health between a mental health worker who wishes to rehabilitate people discharged from an institution into the neighbourhood, and neighbours who oppose this: I was given the role of a council member who submits questions to the head councilperson to ask both parties. We weren't told that much more than that, beyond appointing the roles, so I imagine we'll see more on Monday. The caterer came to speak to us about his company and about arrangements for food - tea, biscuits and lunch are provided at the university, while the hotel gives us breakfast - then we ate lunch (really nice chicken and peppers sandwiches) outside the conference room. Prerna and I wandered around the campus grounds a little, then headed back for the afternoon session.

We were given more of a tutorial on submitting work online - the course is assessed with quizzes counting for 10%, assessments 50%, the project 30%, and the viva at the end of the year counting for 10%. We were advised to have decided on our project and hopefully arranged with a supervisor by the end of the fortnight - talking with others during the afternoon tea break, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who's not sure about what to do for a project. Then for the final session, we watched a film on schizophrenia called 'Devrai' - I thought it was really well-made, the lack of background music made the characters and the story seem more real and less like a drama. At one point the main character drops his medication into a fishtank, as the fish swam around the falling pills I was amused by the idea of antipsychotic fish. The film directors joined us and we had the opportunity to ask questions once the film was over, which I enjoyed. Then it was nearly 7.30pm, and we were told that a tour of Pune could be arranged for the next day if enough people wished to go, so I signed up.

While transport to the university is arranged, return travel is up to us. Zuzana and I took a mototaxi back to the hotel - while I've been in mototaxis before, I hadn't been in one with no sides where the driver swerves left and right almost continuously, and I wasn't entirely sure where to hold on. Thankfully we made it back with nobody falling out - the driver wasn't sure how to get to the hotel and had to ask the driver of Peter and Veronica's mototaxi, he wasn't sure either. Peter got out and recognised the road, so we got out and walked for another minute or two to the hotel. There we met Amam, and a group of us went out to buy mosquito repellent - we were advised to get a specific type since mosquitos in India are apparently immune to many types of repellent, likely including the one I brought from home. None of us had exact change, and neither did the shop owner, so he gave us our change in small chocolates - great, if I weren't allergic! Then we agreed to meet in the hotel restaurant for dinner at 9pm - in the end it was me, Amam, Oana and Christine, later joined by Zuzana. Daal lentils with buttered naan bread were really nice, and on Christine's advice I asked for it without chillies since I'm not great with spices. It was a lovely way to end the evening before I came back up for bed.

Day 2: Crossing the road in Pune

After arriving at Mumbai at around 4.30 in the morning (midnight GMT), I met up with Oana once we got off the plane (while unloading the hand luggage compartments, someone's case fell on my head, which amused me after a few seconds) and headed towards border control. There we were shuffled into a long queue, where we inched forwards for about 45 minutes before finally I was up before the guard. A quick look at the passport, a question about the purpose of my journey and a stamp on my passport and customs declaration form, I was through. It took less than a minute, but with so many people (a flight from Kuwait arrived 5 minutes after we did and many people got ahead of us in the rush for the queue) I felt sorry for the people who'd been the last to get off our plane. Once Oana was through we had to show our passport stamps to another guard, then collected our luggage - thankfully we didn't have to wait since the queue had taken so long. I saw my purple case within a minute, and soon we both had our luggage. Then through toward the exit, handed my customs form to another guard (he gave it back to me to fill in my details before letting me through, some people got through without anything written on their forms), then finally we were at the exit of the airport. A driver dressed in white held a placard with our names, and asked us to wait at a parking bay. About ten minutes later he showed up, loaded our suitcases, then at around 6am we began our three hour journey to Pune.

I slept on-and-off for most of the journey. At the start I was wide awake wondering how anybody could drive and feel safe in doing so: if there was room to breathe, a car or motorcycle was through that gap, weaving in and out of lanes with beeping horns. At one point we turned onto a road at an intersection seconds before we'd have collided with the division: I'd thought that driving in Peru seemed more reckless than at home, but this made it seem like drivers in Peru all follow the Green Cross Code. After a few minutes I saw no point of worrying about becoming a road-accident statistic, our driver knew what he was doing. We drove through Mumbai on smaller roads toward the intersection - I briefly wondered if this was safe, but reasoned that since I'd seen and heard Oana speak to one of the college professors on the taxi driver's phone just after we set off as previously arranged, we were probably alright. It was dark so I didn't see much, but at this early hour did see women walking along the side of the road, children with school uniforms, people waiting at bus stops, people sleeping on the streets - I wondered if the people who slept by the highway had learned to block out the noise. At one point I woke up to find that we were pulling into what looked like a bus station: the driver said something about getting food and left us there for twenty minutes. Part of me wanted to get back to sleep, another part thought that since we were on our own in a car in a place we didn't know, I should probably stay awake just in case. That said, I wonder how much defence I could've put up in my tired state. When the driver came back I went to the loo - the first cubicle had a hole in the ground, the second had a Western toilet - then we continued on our journey.

Just after 9am I woke up as we arrived at the hotel in Pune. We checked in, the porter told us what time breakfast would be served until, then took us and our cases up to our rooms. I wondered briefly about getting breakfast, but decided that I'd take a short nap first and see how I felt. So I set my alarm for 12pm and dozed. Naturally I woke up at 3pm, having slept through both my alarm and (I later learned) the phone ringing. After a shower Oana phoned (she'd phoned earlier), asking if I wanted to join her on a walk. So we wandered around near the hotel (many children tried to sell us things on the way), until we reached a river with cows on its banks. I reached for my camera, to realise that I'd left the battery charging in the hotel... To get to the river we had to cross a few busy main roads, which isn't the easiest thing for someone not used to the driving style here. At one point Oana crossed over and I stayed stuck on the pavement, so she came back and pulled me across. We couldn't find anywhere to change money though (we were advised to change our money here since technically rupees can't be brought in or out of India): when we returned to the hotel we were told that it was a holiday and the banks were closed.

I went back to my room for a little, then changed a bit of money in the hotel (the rate isn't great, £1=80 rupees compared to the 86 rupees the internet suggests) for dinner. Oana and I ate in the hotel since we were too tired to go exploring - I had a bland shepherd's pie with a creamy tomato sauce since I often get a dodgy tummy while travelling, and would rather avoid foods that might make me feel unwell. Once we'd paid (the tax and service charge were added on top of the meal price in the final bill, but even then 240 rupees seems good for an evening meal) we wandered to the swimming pool: on seeing its cloudiness we decided against swimming, but stayed chatting on the terrace for a while. Then when we got tired we went to our rooms: I decided to have some herbal tea but the kettle didn't work, so reception sent someone up to fix that. Then I unpacked my things while Doctor Who played on the TV (I don't follow it, but I felt like having some background noise). Everything seemed to have arrived - except all but one pair of knickers. This presents two possibilities. One, I left them in Coventry/Bletchley/Gatwick. Two, a pervy luggage handler took them while leaving everything else. I'm not sure which option I'd rather, to be honest. So I know at least one thing that I'll buy when I go shopping!

When it got to about 10pm local time, I decided that I'd stayed up late enough so that I'd hopefully sleep through to a good time in the morning and wake up more adjusted to the time zone. The room has a double bed with four pillows - four! - so I was able to settle down to sleep.

Day 1: Making it to Mumbai

As is usual the night before a flight, I had trouble sleeping. Then trouble staying asleep. Then when it was finally 7am and time to wake up, I had trouble staying awake. Mum and I ate a quick packed breakfast and packed up our things, then drove to the ten minutes' to the terminal - originally I thought that we'd be closer to the terminal, but it turned out that our hotel was on the opposite side of the airport than I'd thought. Not that it made much difference though, Lorraine the satnav (named after Christopher's dancing hamster which sings 'Rawhide') still got us there with plenty of time.

In the airport it was a quick check-in and farewell to my suitcase, and about 2 hours before the plane was due to leave I said goodbye to Mum and went through customs. In the terminal I wandered around looking at food prices, decided that it really wasn't worth it, then bought a meal deal at Boots and ate that (I was going to buy water anyway, and the carrot cake looked tasty). Then a bit more wandering, then the gate number was announced and I headed off. More waiting there, read a bit, then at last we were let on the plane.

The flight to Istanbul was 4 hours, during which time I read and ate lunch. We were brought a truffle just after take-off, then some hazelnuts - I liked this even though I don't eat chocolate and am not fond of nuts. A young couple sat next to me by the window, so I didn't get much chance to see the view. After a while we were brought lunch of beef and cheesecake, then more reading until we landed.

In Istanbul I had a two and a half hour wait, so after going through customs I wandered around looking at food prices, decided it wasn't worth it (3 euros for small chips at Burger King was the cheapest thing I could see) then wandered down to the gate to read. Just before the flight opened I got a text from another student, Oana, who I'd arranged to meet at the gate since we were taking the same flight from Istanbul. She was at the terminal but couldn't find me - a minute later we found each other, it was nice to meet a travelling companion. Apparently there was another girl with a blue t-shirt and pink rucksack who looked surprised when Oana asked her if she was me, hence the text. We waited a little longer until the gate opened - there was a disordered dash for the doors to the bus that would take us to the plane, which took me a bit by surprise since usually I'm used to lines or row numbers being called. Oana sat a few rows behind me on the plane, and I sat next to a man from Italy who plugged in his earphones as soon as we boarded and never looked away from the TV screen. We waited on the runway for a while, then the plane speed up and soon we were flying.

The flight took just under 6 hours all in all, less than I'd expected. Over a dinner of lentils and chickpeas I filled in my landing card, then decided to see what films there were. One Harry Potter, Little Fockers, Puss in Boots and a read-through of the Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities later, we were preparing to land. I sat by the window this time, and could see the lights of the city as we got closer to Mumbai. As we landed, I pulled out from my belt the keyrings with photos of my late aunt and grandmother, and held them close as I looked out the window. My aunt often talked about going to India and was very fond of the sari a family friend brought her, and my grandmother loved to travel the world: I felt a bit tearful as we touched the runway, thinking about how this was the closest they'd come to being here in India, and how glad they'd be that I made it here.

I did tell you that I'm going to India, right?

11th July 2012

Dear Ms Catherine Richardson,

I am pleased to inform you that the Admissions Committee has considered your application and has offered you a place on the “International Diploma in Mental Health Law and Human Rights” for the academic year 2012-13 starting from 27^th October 2012 at Indian Law Society (ILS), Pune, India. 

When people ask me what I'm doing now that I've (technically) left Warwick, there's the surprise when I tell them that I'm doing a postgraduate course based in India. Then I explain that it's a distance-learning correspondence course, so I do my reading and complete coursework by computer while continuing to live in Coventry. I mention the two-week residential session in India at the end of October, which seems too far in the future to get too excited about. And now I'm flying off tomorrow. It hasn't quite sunk in that I'm leaving yet, then again, it rarely does when I go travelling.

I first learned of this course the summer before my 3rd year, when I started wondering what on Earth I'd do after my undergraduate degree. At the time I was toying with the idea of moving from psychology toward law, but wasn't convinced that I'd want to go straight into a law degree. Then I came across this diploma course on the World Health Organisation website, which focuses on mental health and policy making in such a way that promotes human rights, and felt that this would be a good next step. When applications opened after Easter this year I had the fun of writing a personal statement (just like UCAS all over again...) and pestering my tutor and supervisor for references, then began the waiting game. I got my provisional acceptance letter in early July, then final confirmation not long after. By the end of September I'd paid my course fees and received my visa, updated my travel vaccinations (a very kind nurse gave me Hep B jabs for free on learning that I'm on a mental health course), and last week got my malaria tablets and began packing my purple suitcase.

The two-week residential session starts on Saturday, and tomorrow my flight leaves at 11am from Gatwick. Mum and I are staying in a hotel just outside the airport tonight so we don't have to get up too early - I left Coventry yesterday afternoon and spent the night with my family, then this afternoon we drove down to the hotel. I'm flying into Istanbul first, where I'm hopefully meeting another student on the course (Oana from Romania), then flying on to Mumbai. From there we'll be picked up by a taxi hired by the law college to the hotel in Pune, which is around 3 hours away. I'm due to get to Mumbai at about 4.30am local time on Friday, so midnight over here - Pune's 4 and a half hours ahead of London. 13 hours in total from Gatwick to Mumbai, so I'm guessing my total journey time to Pune's about 17 hours. I decided to arrive a day before the course started to give me a chance to recover and to get over jet lag! 

Two weeks of seminars and lectures from mental health policymakers and human rights advocates and professors, and meeting people from different countries who're as interested as I am in mental health and human rights. In India, a country I've never been to before and that I've wanted to visit since watching 'A Little Princess' as a 6 year old. This looks to be awesome!