India is incredible already. After many many cups of chai, platters of naan and spicy curry, and scents of fried bread, incense, sewage, and sweat, it feels as though we’ve lived here for weeks. The wonderful chaos feels like home, and it seems like our group is already family.
The thirty-something hours of journeying to arrive here were well spent- getting to know the other group members, watching movies on… Read More
We’ve been in communication with the group leaders and all is well – in fact very little has registered that there was an earthquake in Sikkim, but since it could potentially affect the group’s volunteering there, it’s something we felt prudent to communicate to parents and vicarious travelers alike.
As many of you may have heard, there was an earthquake centered in Sikkim yesterday that measured 6.8 on the Richter… Read More
Namaste!
Just a quick note to those out there that the students and leaders are doing well. We have been enjoying our Orientation to Dehli and all the glorious sights, smells, and sounds. Our first 12 hour train ride happens tonight.
We’ve been learning Hindi and getting used to some of the customs. Official language classes start next week where we also move to cooler climates and might not sweat… Read More
Well, after some initial confusion, the group is united in San Francisco and looking … well, look for yourself. I can’t tell if they’re just rabidly excited, or if they’ve had a fit of inspiration from Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
In either case, this group looks great and they are ready to dive into Mama India! May the journey bring enlightenment and a cure for whatever got them in this photo!… Read More
Greetings Gang of Magnificent Travelers! The first post of the semester!!!! We have returned from our summers in Peru and are super excited to be in Portland focusing all of our energy on the upcoming semester in India. We are not much more than a week away from seeing all of you in the San Francisco airport and beginning our epic journey around the world. It’s going to be an… Read More
Coming home is as much a part of the journey as leaving. It does not make it easier when you not only have to say goodbye to an amazing country like India but also to a group of wonderful friends. Friends whom you have spent the last three months with, friends who were there when you were ecstatically happy, when you were feeling tired, friends who made you laugh, friends… Read More
I don’t think any of us can believe that we will all be going our separate ways in less than 24 hours. In some ways these 3 months have gone by so quickly, but then I think of all the things done like….
Going to the Baha’i temple, Eating 72 momos in one sitting, Increasing our spice tolerance to be able to handle any crazy Indian dish put in front… Read More
At first when we saw the jagged white peaks all around, elaborately carved wooden buildings, green rolling hills, and sunshine sparkling off of waterfalls, we thought we were in Switzerland in India. But then we attended a night-time wedding anniversary-huge horns that sounded terrible, loud drumming, colorful scarves and money, matching outfits with cute hats. This region has it’s own Tribal religion we’d never heard of! The town of Manali… Read More
(Hello/May luck be with you in Tibetan) Mcleod Ganj! Hills covered in forest, bright colorful houses, so many waving prayer flags. Jagged white mountains shining in the sunshine. Monks in red robes chatting on their cellphones. Tourists from all over the world, yak wool blankets and singing bowls, momos, falafel, Bhagsu cake! We adore our homestay families! It was hard at first-A lot of us are in one room houses!… Read More
With minds as clear as the upper Ganga, we left Phool Chatti with inner peace and outward tranquility. Music rang throughout the bus on our way to the train station, thoughtless contemplation ran high. Then the tornado of Indian travel ripped its way into our consciousness, tearing at our vulnerablilities and peaceful minds. Indian stares and crowded trains were bolstered with clashing vibes and unknown motives. We looked out the… Read More
The last 7 days of our epic adventure have been spent at Phool Chatti Ashram. Because most of the members of our group have never been to boot camp, let alone base training, I took some time to describe the similarities and eventually we all agreed:The Ashram Life= Spiritual Bootcamp. A typical day in bootcamp looks something like this- (the Ashram equivalent will be explained in parentheses)
5:30: Wake up… Read More
In a country where the word ‘cricket’ means little more than a noise-making bug, you may find it hard to grasp the greater meaning of the word cricket, the cricket that may forever change the face of India. With wickets and overs and bowlers and sixes, you muggles may ask yourselves: what in the name of Ganesh is all this rubbish-talk all about? Ladies and gentlemen, its cricket. Its a… Read More
Today we will be leaving our free days at our guest house in Rishikesh and on to the ashram.While in Rishikesh we stayed at a wonderful cottage, and although the boys seemed to be favored by the restaurant workers, we always finished our meals happily. We have enjoyed our free days very much here in the yoga capital of the world. We have had chances to go shopping, eat falafel,… Read More
Although three of us were sadly unable to go on our trek last week, the six of us remaining had a great adventure. We had a couple struggles, but were all able to keep high spirits and push threw them. The high altitude helped bring a few laughs too!
Every morning during our trek we would get into a circle and the captains of the day would warm us up.… Read More
Taken minutes before the start of our trek with our mascot Cyndira the Unicorn in the background. Our camp on the 2nd and 4th night of the trek. Yay we made it to the top!… Read More
Today is Holi, the festival of colors, and it doesn’t get as crazyhere in Sikkim as it does in the big cities, but there’s definitely alot of very pink Indian men roaming around town. Jess and Becca and Iwent into town today to get some last minute trekking supplies andcame back completely covered in colors. It was amazing.Thursday was our last day of volunteering at the school, and to oursurprise… Read More
