Follow the Journey

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

The Shanti Crew has made it to Delhi! After many hours in the air and an adventurous layover in Hong Kong, we got word that the Shanti crew has safely landed in Delhi. They are on their way to get some much needed rest before diving in to orientation tomorrow. Despite being sleepy, everyone seems enthusiastic and excited and we can’t wait to hear more adventures soon!… Read More

Good evening friends and “fans” of the Fall 2016 Shanti crew! We are happy to report that our North American students have successfully met up with Chris and Kate in the San Francisco airport and just passed through security now. They are all excited for this next leg of the journey to Hong Kong and then on to Delhi where they will meet their final group member and begin their… Read More

Dearest Friendies, I’ve been walking around the streets of Dharmsala, still expecting to see your faces pop out of a cafe or wandering back to visit your homestay family. Instead, I see people that we all know and we spend a moment talking about how great you are and wondering how you are readjusting to home. At times it all feels like a dream, then I recall all of the… Read More

We have received word that the mighty Shanti group has successfully checked in for their return flight to America from New Delhi. We wish them traveling mercies on the long flight home and joyful reunions with their loved ones.… Read More

Hello from India! once again this is Kenya, i have been given the bittersweet honor of writing the last blog post from the India Shanti 2016 crew.i was so fortunate to have traveled around northern India with a group of 9 phenomenal people who i can proudly call a part of my family. This last week we found ourselves back in McLeod ganj, a beautiful city in Dharamsala home to… Read More

Hello to all our dearly loved ones! We have finished up our time at the absolutely beautiful organic farm ran by, the equally beautiful, Rana family. For five days we worked in the farm and learned farming techniques and the ways of living pure and completely organic. We were welcomed and embraced to their home, philosophy and glorious kitchen table. It was the perfect place for our group to relax,… Read More

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Hello Friendis!! Georgia at the blog again for a second week (woot woot!) Where to begin?! We kicked off our student directed travel by going to the Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh. This is a seven acre abandoned Ashram where the Beatles stayed in the late 60’s and produced most of the “White Album.” The Ashram has become a shrine to the Beatles with incredible graffiti everywhere. We spent our time… Read More

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