It all began with an innocent search on the UBC Go Global website. I was looking for some sort of international experience (that wasn’t an exchange) that would take me to India. In this search, I stumbled upon the Academic Internship Council internship in Mumbai. This is an internship program offered through Go Global in which students are able to go abroad to do internships to gain experience in their field of study. My interest was piqued. Unfortunately, there wasn’t very much information online about the program so days later, I found myself sitting in the office of the Go Global Advisor for Internships and Research Abroad.

What started out as a far off dream of going away to do an AIC organized internship in the summer turned into a quest to organize my own internship in January instead. The Go Global adivsor made this all seem possible. With his guidance, I scoured the internet for organizations working in the fields of food sovereignty, social justice, urban agriculture, sustainable agriculture and the environment. I sent out emails to people on the other side of the world asking if they would accept me as an unpaid intern in the new year. It was scary and empowering at the same time. And believe it or not, I heard back!

I got accepted by Navdanya as an unpaid intern beginning in February. Initially, upon submitting my application, I got a reply from Navdanya Bija Vidyapeeth (Earth University) which is located on the Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Farm in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand. I was elated at their response however this is not where I had initially hoped to do an internship. Because I am fascinated by cities and interested in the policy and activism side of food systems, I was really excited about the idea of doing an internship at Navdanya’s Delhi office. Getting in touch with the office, I learned, is no easy feat. Because New Delhi is 13.5 hours ahead of Vancouver time, there were some nights that I was up three of four times calling the office, trying my darndest to get in touch with the New Delhi internship coordinator. For a long while, she remained elusive. Finally I awoke to an email inviting me to come and intern in Delhi! Never have I been so excited.

As soon as the trip is a reality, the panic set in. It seems the closer my trip gets, the longer my to-do list gets. Passports, visas, vaccinations, documents to be obtained form Navdanya, scholarships to secure, offices to call, courses to organize. There have been a number of points in the process that I thought I would have to give up: when I learned that I might lose my scholarship if I missed the semester; when I couldn’t get in touch with Navdanya; when I couldn’t figure out the process of Visa application given my intentions to intern; when I realized how much it was going to cost me. It’s been frustrating, no doubt but the scariest part of it all is that once all the items are checked off the list and I’m sitting on that plane, I have no idea what India has in store for me. I’m terrified and exhilarated. But one thing that this experience has already taught me is, if you put yourself out there, you can make anything happen and there are always people around to help.

I really thought I could pull this thing off but today, I bought my ticket so India here I come!