PIRATE SHIP FACT: To help them stay awake during longer trips, some pirates would drink coffee for its stimulating effects.
Saturday, November 9th – 8:47 p.m.
On Saturday nights, when as many in-state kids as possible have fled Bursley to their homes, the Community Learning Center (CLC) is eerily empty. A few of us were scattered between the couches, which is where Sahithy and I began yapping.
I told her to “tell me a story. Literally any story.” Getting content for this blog requires some desperate hail Marys for anecdotes. In that moment, I wonder how Sahithy (a friend I made in the first couple weeks on campus) felt when I cornered her during her study session looking for content. Thankfully, she lended me some of her time, and told me about her solo trip visit to India. I asked her for three major moments, not necessarily world shaking, but personal to her. She focused in on Goa, India.
A Debatable Brush With Death
On their drive to visit the mountains in Goa, Sahithy’s family loaded her into their car and drove up through the famous slopes. Not only was the incline dangerously steep, but water Sahithy described as almost “two feet high” barreled towards the car on their journey upwards. While she was pondering her near demise, the rest of her family was completely chill and assured her the conditions were normal. By the end, she wasn’t sure who was crazy.
The Hidden Falls
Throughout the mountains, there were humongous waterfalls that made her feel minuscule in comparison. Not only were they mind meltingly large, but they were located in hidden coves across the summit.
The Window Seat
Sahithy assured me that the entire trip was relatively relaxed, other than the reverse slip-and-slide up the mountain. However, before she discussed any of the moments above, she told me about the last event chronologically: the flight back. Usually the window seat is a win, but when you’re alone, anyone you could imagine could end up next to you. In her case, two six-foot tall men were passed out snoring to her right, for eleven plus hours. That meant that if she wanted to go to the bathroom, she would end up destabilizing two already uncomfortable people, who were packed in chairs with barely enough leg room for us small Indian women.
When she’s not battling mountain currents, Sahithy studies Business here at Michigan. Her story is inspiring to those who have never solo traveled, and terrifying if you are someone who uses the bathroom twice an hour on a plane (speaking generally, of course).
Still from the CLC,
Captain Singh
