The Shanti team is walking through security at the San Francisco airport and so excited to begin their journey together! The airport rendezvous was full of laughter and games and energy. The group is almost complete as they have one more member to meet in Delhi – but in the meantime they can’t wait to watch lots of movies and get some rest on the plane, have a short exploration… Read More
Namaste Shanti travelers! With our departure for India only a few short days away, we are thrilled to share our first blog post of the Spring. As the semester progresses, this blog will take the form of a (mostly) weekly update of our journey through India, written by students. Friends and family can look forward to reading stories about city life, overnight trains, yoga, ancient temples, outdoor adventures, home-stays, and… Read More
It’s the afternoon of December 6th, and the community of Shanti Fall 2016 huddles one last time, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, the tops of our heads touching as we look down at the circle of feet below us. It’s a tradition that started early on in our trip; it became the way we often ended group meetings and gatherings, and has taken on more feeling every time. In… Read More
Namaste loved ones!!
Catherine here, writing to you in Delhi with love and gratitude radiating through my heart and soul as we finish up our 3 month long journey. The past week we were kicking it in the desert in Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is a cozy little sandstone city that sits just outside the Thar Desert, where camels roam the sand dunes and people come from all over the world just… Read More
We’ve just heard from the leaders with the update that the entire Shanti group is safely off on their next adventures! Many will be traveling on their own in Asia for a while before returning home, while others are currently on the flight headed back towards San Francisco. They had a celebratory last day and said a joyful, tearful goodbye. Check out this sweet “final group photo!”
Much gratitude from… Read More
Namaskar friends, family and anonymous readers! Emilia here, writing this from Rajasthan, the westernmost state of northern India!
We left the mountains and Mother Ganga behind in Rishekesh, and took a 13 hour train ride to the desert! Our adventure began on the train to Jaipur, when a bunch of kids came to visit our bunk to talk and sing with us and tell us about their yoga competition they… Read More
Namaste all of you beautiful souls! With a happy heart and a calm mind I am blessed to be writing to you from the quaint town of Rishikesh where we just completed our one week transformational journey at the magical Phool chatti Ashram! Nestled along the banks of the Holy Mother Ganga, this beautiful yoga ashram is 120 years old and surrounded by mountain ranges that have aged over the… Read More
Blog from Ford about their trek & Amritsar. Photos from Alessandra from their time at Dharmalaya Hello from the Shanti Crew!
Ford here, writing our group’s blog for the last few days in Mcleod Ganj and in Amritsar. Picking up from where Dani left off, our group was just leaving our Tibetan homestays and getting ready to head up to Triund, a mountain camp at the base of Dhauladhar Peak,… Read More
Hey friends and family! Dani here, just giving you all a quick update on our time so far in Mcleod Ganj.
Once we left the Sustainable Living Institute we hopped in a taxi which took us to our hotel in Bhagsu, right outside of Mcleod. It was a little after our halfway point of the trip, so we decided to throw a pizza party to celebrate! It was a welcome… Read More
Oh hey! The Shanti family has just spent the last week as members of the Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Alessandra here writing to you from an internet cafe in McLeod Ganj; what Dharmalaya lacked in internet, it more than made up for in spectacular mountain views. Under the wisdom of our new friend, Mark Ji, we learned about the incredible institute he founded… Read More
Greetings from Kolkata, or Calcutta for anyone who took highschool geography before 2001. We sincerely hope that our blog is allowing all our readers to vicariously enjoy India. My name is Nate and this week I’ve been tasked with adding a little bit more to the story. It’s been a fast and furious week for the Shanti group. Last you heard from us we were attempting to attain enlightenment for… Read More
Namaste beautiful friends and family!!
Catherine here from Bodhgaya to update you on our latest week!! Boy, have we had an amazing time here at the Root Institute. I know I can speak for everyone when I say we don’t want to leave!! From the moment we arrived here, we could feel how special it was. Monks and Nuns smiling at you, the cutest goats running around seemingly overwhelmed by… Read More
Blog from Emily S. Photos from Savannah and the Overseas Educators Namaste from Bodhgaya!
Emilia here, writing from the Root Institute! We arrived here yesterday healthy and excited to be studying Buddhism! It’s a different change of pace compared to Varanasi, a city full of bustling cows, water buffalo, rickshaws and people. We stayed in Banaras (the local term for the city) for almost one week, learned some “survival Hindi”… Read More
Writing to you from an internet cafe on the busy streets of Rishikesh. We have made it back safely from our 3 day trek in the Himalayas! We are sad to say goodbye to Kiran, Ankit, and all of the Red Chili crew from our trek. The past three days have been incredible. We began our journey with a two hour hike straight up the mountain. When we arrived at… Read More
We just received this great picture of the entire group at their hostel in Delhi. Chris and Kate have let me know that the group is happy and healthy and excited to begin their trek!… Read More
Namaste!!
Emilia, Dani, Nate and Catherine here from an internet cafe in New Delhi!
After 2 days of traveling, an adventurous layover in the city of Hong Kong, and many delirious diversions, we have arrived happy and healthy in New Delhi! From the moment we arrived, we were thrown into the rich culture here- the chaos of traffic, stories of sacred cows, and delicious food.
The past few days, we… Read More
Shanti has arrived in India!!!! After many hours of travel, exploring Hong Kong, losing bags at the airport, and an interesting taxi ride talking about why cows are sacred… We made it to our hostel. In the past two days of orientation we got to learn the “do’s and donuts” of India as well as a LOT about each other! We drew an audience while playing frisbee on the beautiful… Read More
