Follow the Journey

By the time we left Calcutta on Saturday night we were all prettyfrazzled and worn out from a week of hot weather and hard work. Idon’t know about the rest of the group, but I was definitely dreamingabout fresh air and mountain views. After an overnight train and afive hour jeep ride through the mountains we finally arrived inGangtok, the capital of Sikkim.The population of Gangtok is 30,000(compare that to… Read More

Namaste! We just finished up our week at Mother Teresa house, and have an 11pm train to gangtok tonight. We’re all excited for the mountain air!volunteering at Mother Teresa has been challenging, but reallyrewarding and I think we’ve all taken a lot away from it. We said ourgoodbyes to people we’ve been helping and other volunteers, and weeven got sung a song that goes like this “We thank you thank… Read More

The Bodhi Tempel where Buddha became enlightened in Bodh Gaya Luke and Noah doing the famous Indian “pinky hold” Luke’s birthday cake (that later got completely smooshed and was creatively put back together by Phoebe and Jess) Lydia on our boat ride on the Ganga to celebrate our last night in Varanasi and the fact that we had traveled so successfully for the last 2.5 weeks. hi readers! we just… Read More

Tommorrow we leave Varanasi by train for Bodhgaya, the place that the Buddah is said to have reached enlightenment. The city now offers many temples to visit or meditate at, as well as a descendant of the very same bodhi tree the Buddah sat under thousands of years ago. But before we leave Varanasi we will enjoy an evening boat ride up the Ganges to eat dinner and watch hundreds… Read More

Enjoying a lecture about Ajeet’s work with Guria to eradicate child’s prostitution in Varanasi and beyond. Bollywood dance poses at an Indian wedding in Varanasi after taking over the dance floor for at least one whole hour. All the girls so pretty in silk saris! Becca loving the children (as always) at a artist colony just outside of Jaipur, Rajasthan Dancing at the artist colony Noah literally jumping in and… Read More

We have been in Varanasi, one of the worlds most ancient cities, for a week now. Varanasi has traditionally been known as a place for intense study, and nowadays this reputation continues with a more modern flair. Our time has been packed full with classes of all kinds: Hindi language lessons, tabla, fire dancing, painting, stone carving, Ayurdedic medicine, etc, as well as several lectures from local activist and educators.… Read More

After a very delayed bus ride we finally arrived to Rajasthan from Delhi. For the cleaner air and more relaxed atmosphere (and keep in mind that everything is relative in India) it was worth the 9+ hours in transit. Just after arriving to Jaipur we all settled into our home stays where we were welcomed by plenty of food and warm hospitality. For the past couple of days we have… Read More

Normally the group would be blogging family and friends themselves, but, after long travels and a 13.5 hour time change, they are resting at last! This is Amy from headquarters and I am happy to report that I spoke with Ben this afternoon. They have all safely arrived in Delhi. The group is all together and other than a little fatigue, all are well. They were headed straight to the… Read More

It’s official! This is Nannette, and I’ve just received word that all of the SFO contingent of the India semester is together, accounted for, and checked in for Delhi. The leaders, Ben and Lotte are so excited and ready to share their mentorship with this amazing group. More when the final two meet up with them in Indira Ghandi Airport… For now this is Carpe HQ signing off…… Read More

Lotti and Benji signing in! As many of you know, we have been here at the office in Portland for the past couple of weeks preparing for our upcoming trip in India, though, in reality, nothing will ever prepare anyone for India. We say this with the upmost affection, excitement, and reverence for such a beautifully chaotic and chaotically beautiful place.We look forward so much to meeting face to face… Read More

Greetings blog readers, worried parents, friends of friends and creatures, space aliens of all kinds. We left off in McCloud gang in the wintery little village of the daliest lama and took a day train to bikaner. Avery quaint little desert town, we arrived late at night and not a creature was stirring, only wild dogs sniffing through garbage. We turned our attention towards our hotel, my bloodstained sheets and… Read More

Here we are in McLeod Ganj, tucked high up in the hills, surrounded by even higher peaks-the mystical Himalayan Mountains. After our week at Deer Park Institute, we were able to enter this week in McLeod with clear and focused minds. We are all excited to finally have reached this destination, so different from any place we have previously been to because of the strong Tibetan influence, or rather, a… Read More

Gratitude is my mood… If anything I’ve learned from travel it is that we are all family in some waysucked down by gravity to walk this landAnd on Thanksgiving 2010 with you, my brothers and sistersgratitude is my mood when you glow as you write and wrestle and wrestle and write with your journey, Amanda,you alight inspirationand gratitude is my mood when you dance and dance then sit for hours… Read More

Hey! The Deer Park Institute. A place built up in our minds as the home to five days of bone-chilling buddhist-style silence. Five days with few, if any interactions with the other carpe diem group members we have grown to love and hold dear. Five days of mindful nothingness. Upon arriving at the institute, all these intimidating perceptions were thrown out the window. The atmosphere was far less strict than… Read More

Hi Everyone, Tiana here, ready to give you all the 411 on our time in Amritsar; which wasn’t much… and note that most of our time spent in Amritsar was mostly free wandering on our own, but I will do my best to include everyone. Lets’ see… We were there for a total of 3 days and were lucky enough to find a decent hotel right around the corner from… Read More

Dear avid readers, Hello. I am currently faced with the task of blogging about our week at the Ashram in under 15 minutes so I can get to the Pakistani boarder in time for the show. And even I was stricken by the sheer weirdness of that last sentence. The week took on completely different meanings for each one of us as we all trekked through mountains and walked across… Read More

Hello!!!!! It’s been a while! Your blogger today will be me, Trevor Jermasek. This is my first blog on our trip. Actually, I think this could be my first time ever posting a blog. Period. So please please, bear with me, I’m trying. And I know that Amanda already put a little somethin somethin down about are travels up in those holy hills, and i cant say that I’ll do… Read More

Greetings from Rishikesh, the world’s “capital for yoga,” not to mention some incredible white water rafting, mini cows and an array of other great wildlife. Rishikesh sits on the beautiful ganga, sparkling brilliantly and clean (as clean as it gets here in India) as it makes its way through this beautiful canyon. Yesterday the crew took a day trip down the river, rafting with a company called “Red Chilli.” Our… Read More

Yesterday I took a walk down the bank of the Ganges with Nelle, Jeff, and Amanda Ji. It was a walk that won’t leave me for a while. As we began our stroll we immediately came across a Bollywood style dance scene being filmed on the steps leading to a temple that sits on the edge of the river. Indian music was blasting from a speaker as ten dancers, half… Read More

Varanasi There is so much to say. This is our sixth of nine days in this holy city on the Ganges. In that time, all remaining healthy members of the group got their first taste of Indian sickness (Dylan and Trevor). No need to worry parents, everyone is healthy now and stronger for their struggles with unfamiliar looking bowel movements. Please excuse the crudity. Meanwhile, we have all taken part… Read More