By Jonny Klynkramer (ArtiSci ‘ 14)

Here’s the deal: while my family and friends have been enjoying their summer months doing all sorts of fun, summer-y things, I’ve already completed three months of school. Have I been attending summer school? Not exactly; while I love Kingston to death, I felt it was time for me to move on.

On June 7, I flew out of Pearson International Airport destined for Mumbai, India. Four days later I was starting my year of studies at Jai Hind College. Why India? At this point I’m still not sure. All I remember is walking in to the International Programs Office and telling them I wanted to go to India for my exchange. The first thing they asked was something like, “are you able to cope with having no set plan and figuring basically everything out on your own?” Foolishly, I responded with “yes of course; in fact that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

Now I’m here, in Mumbai, India, getting everything that I asked for.

Mumbai isn’t a place you’d want to go for a family vacation, or any vacation for that matter. It’s dirty, hot, smoggy, crowded and constantly attacking you from every angle. It’s as though every little thing here is purposely trying to mess with your head. Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the home of both Bollywood and one of the largest slum populations in the world. It’s also a large city, the largest in India with over 12 million people. To put that in perspective, the entire population of Canada is over 33 million.

Safe to say, adjusting to this city hasn’t been easy. At times I’ve found myself burnt out and strongly questioning my decision to come here, especially when I could have been somewhere like Europe or Australia. Three months in I still ask myself what I’m doing here. Then I remember everything I’ve learned so far.

In this short time I’ve seen protests, been stuck in floods, met some incredible people and experienced some incredible things. For example, when I won a college DJ competition as a last minute entry, or when I decided to take a train out of the city for the night with no set destination in mind. Every day in this place brings with it a new adventure, a new lesson. Sometimes you just need to see through the chaos to find it.

This is the ultimate case for learning outside the classroom.

Jonny Klynkramer will be sharing more of his experiences in Mumbai as part of QJBlog’s Exchange Diaries series. He’ll be blogging again on Sept. 28.

In the meantime, follow Jonny’s experience via Twitter and tumblr:
Twitter: @jklynk
tumblr: http://jonnyinmumbai.tumblr.com/