After another exciting week during which I had a Bengali cookery class - not going to lie, the best part was eating it afterwards, my first Hindi lesson and days spent writing up reviews of events at the newspaper office, where everyone is very young, modern and friendly, the city madness was starting to take its toll on my energy. However, Lizzie, who is a miraculous fountain of knowledge, seemed to have thought ahead and organised a two-day trip to Shantiniketan - (translates to abode of peace) for Celia, Lizzie, her friend Kara from home, and myself.

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, Chennai , India

After being told at home to prepare myself for a "massive culture shock" I'm amazed at how quickly I've managed to settle in and how many similarities there are with home. Calcutta doesn't smell horrendous, doesn't have cows roaming the streets, does have a metro system and the road that I'm living on is Cal's answer to Oxford St - full of shops and restaurants with a massive park at one end. The woman at my homestay seems very friendly and I get on well with Celia, who has been here for a month and who I share a room with.

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, Chennai , India