A girl named Abbie from Pittsburgh reached out to me through Couchsurfing, inquiring about Hindi classes in Varanasi. I recommended she contact Mr. Virendra Singh. Although she had previously written to Bhasha Bharti, she hadn’t received a response. I asked Mr. Singh if he had availability for another student, and fortunately, he had an hour free. At the time, Abbie was still in Bhopal, so I advised her to get in touch with me once she arrived in Varanasi. I also thought it would be beneficial for her to meet Udo, another Hindi student staying at my place.

Abbie called me on the 21st. I invited her to my home to introduce her to Udo, but he was out at the time. Instead, I took her to Mr. Singh’s place. After meeting him, Abbie decided she would like to continue her Hindi studies with him for the rest of her time in India. Although she had already studied Hindi for three months in Indore, she felt she hadn’t learned much because her teacher there was a mathematics teacher, not a qualified Hindi instructor.

After her initial lesson with Mr. Singh, Abbie traveled to Khajuraho but plans to return by next Monday. With three months left in India, she has ample time to learn basic Hindi. I hope she makes good progress with Mr. Singh. Although she had hoped to stay at my place, I was unable to host her as all my rooms were already booked. Instead, she is staying at Ganga Yogi Lodge near Sonarpura, which fits her budget.