My weekend trip to Manipal

NOTE: This post is not a travelogue. The travelogue is coming up soon in my next post. :)

Midway through my internship at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, I got an opportunity to visit my alma-mater, MIT Manipal. It was a weekend I was eagerly waiting for since I had left college on 25th December, 2015. 

Manipal, is a small university town, bubbling with enthusiasm and filled with youthful energy. It is about 8 hours drive on roads from Bangalore. Manipal, is a place quite dear to my heart and the experience she has given me so far, is beyond what I can articulate. 

The purpose for the trip was my mid-term evaluation of the final semester internship. Though, i hardly spent an hour on it. The weekend was one of my last visits to manipal, and I had planned on making the best of the three days I would be spending there.

My to-do list for the weekend, looked something like this.

1. Meet all my dear friends who where visiting college too.
2. Go out with my girls for one last time.
3. Have breakfast at our usual place.
4. Visit Manipal Lake and the Kapu Beach Light house.
5. Speak to professors and thank them for all their help and kindness.
6. Talk to hostel wardens and Akkas and big them farewell
7. Spend time with friends and have a good old chat.
8. Meet juniors and try to inspire them and to help them with their queries, and well check-up on them :P
9. Go on a run-away trip to GOA or Gokarna. Something of the Zindagi milegi na dobara types.
10. Go for one last party and dance away. 

What I ended up doing was this.

1. Met my good old friends.
2. Had a surprise birthday party with my girls and dinner at a descent restaurant. All of us decked up for the occasion.
3. Had breakfast and dinner cooked by my dear friend.
4. Did not visit the lake or the lighthouse. But, spent an entire day at Delta beach.
5. Spoke to a few professors and had a friendly chat about the world out there. 
6. Met hostel akkas. Not all of them. The Akka's were new now.
7. Spent quality time with a few besties and had girl chats.
8. Met juniors. Not sure about the inspiration part.
9. Did not go on a run-away trip. We decided to laze at my friends apartment instead.
10. Couldn't attend a party and dance. But, had a gala time at the apartment after and before my so called 'surprise' bday cake, which i was very much aware of. :D

The major highlight of the trip was I had FUN. Though  I had a few emotional times, the trip was essential in a way that it helped me realize how much I had grown in the last three months. I realized the important roles my friends and lecturers had played in my life. It was a throwback to all those wonderful undergraduate days. 

And for the record, my presentation went well. Received good reviews and appreciation from my internal Professor and the panel. The 'Magic Wand' worked this time too, as my friend describes it as.