Parents, followers, friends, and relatives,
I just heard from our fearless co-leaders, Nick and Stacey, that the San Francisco contingent of students is all together and successfully checked in and through security! They all depart in less than a few hours and what a beginning! We’ll connect with the Seattle folks in Delhi and post a blog accordingly, but for this first leg, everything went smoothly and … dare I… Read More
Hey Ya’ll, We want to welcome everyone to the Carpe Diem India Semester! We are here in Portland, making the final preparations for our journey, and wanted to reach out to everyone that will be with us during the next few months. This blog will be one of our main sources of communication for everyone back home, and a way for all our friends and family to share our many… Read More
After the eye-opening events and education we had in McLeod Ganj, we left the Tibetan community in the afternoon, waving goodbye to Neema-la–our contact–Max, Santos, our Tibetan families, and the J.J.I. Brothers in Exile–just a few of the vastly interesting and genuine people we met in McLeod. It was raining, freezing, and our feet were promptly given baths when we stepped outside to greet the taxis that would take us… Read More
Walking through the streets of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, home of the Tibetan Government and community in exile, it’s a far cry from the India we’ve grown accustomed to. Each of us is living with a Tibetan family where we sleep and eat breakfast and dinner but that is where the similarity of our schedules ends. During the day we peruse the various shops (holiday gifts!), pursue different internships, go on… Read More
The first real group celebration we had in India was Olivia’s 19th birthday, which took place on the train to Delhi. We were living high in the AC Class for that train ride, compared to the non-AC we normally take. We surprised Olivia with an Indian favorite of chocolate balls made by a nice man named Papu from Varanasi, and shared the extra with the Indian residence in our compartment.We… Read More
We arrived in the Hindu Holy city of Varanasi after a short train ride from Bodhgaya the night of the 12th, welcomed by dry air, refreshing bright lights, and freedom from constant threat of mosquito attack. The city is, in my personal opinion, lovely – it sits comfortably on the river Ganga and is filled with more half dressed holy men than I ever thought possible. The river is really… Read More
Tonight we leave Kolkata; when the group left Sikkim I thought it impossible that I would be able to fall in love with any other part of India. But I have, and I will truly miss the home I’ve made for myself here. Before leaving for India, I was told by anyone that had ever been here that this country was full of contradiction. I believe I love Kolkata because… Read More
Sitting here in Darjeeling, it seems quite a feat looking back on the arduous trek the group and I just accomplished. From Yuksam at 6,000 ft. to Dzongri at 13,200 ft., we were out in the Himalayas for a good 7 days; days full of ups and downs, challenges and rewards, pain and beauty. I believe the trek was much harder than most of us expected, and in that sense,… Read More
After the pandemonium of Paharganj, Delhi, the serenity of Sikkim came as a breath of fresh air (literally). We are currently at a homestay, and staying with a fantastic family, the Lepcha’s. They have been more than amazing to us, accommodating our every need and opening their house to us in every way. They also have a beautiful 14 month old boy, who is terrified of Drew (a leader). Its… Read More
Flying was a chore. By the time we reached Hong Kong for our rather long layover, we all (besides being nearly vegetative from jetlag and lack of sleep) felt as though we had known each other for much longer than mere hours. Upon landing, we deliriously came to the decision to visit the world’s largest sitting Buddha, about 45 minutes by bus outside of Hong Kong. Even through our tired… Read More
I just heard from the leaders and it appears that our intrepid group of travelers are together and preparing to check in for their international flights to New Delhi! I have to admit this is thus far an incredibly smooth series of gatherings for all of our Carpe Diem crew and I only hope this portends for as successful a semester as the SFO union has been! As luck would… Read More
Namaste,
I hope you are enjoying time with your family and friends, and feeling easy about your fast-approaching trip.
In most of life, and especially in India, the only constant is change. It may be an appropriate introduction to your travels in India to experience some change before you ever depart.
Your leadership team is shifting. Suzanne Pazandak will now be co-leading with Drew. She has been to India with… Read More
Namaskar. Kia hal haim? / How is your situation?
The situation at Carpe Diem in Portland is auspicious and excited. Drew and I are working with itinerary and logistics, learning all we can about you in absentia, and getting to know each other as well. This is the first of many blogs for our semester, which you all will be taking over soon. The previous semesters’ blogs will be left… Read More
We all knew this day – the day we would leave India – would come.
Some of us thought it would be quick, some of us felt it would be long, and others believed it would be just right; but we all knew this day was unavoidable.
For nearly 90 days we have ventured into the heart and soul of this country and its people, and challenged ourselves physically, mentally,… Read More
‘ello ‘ello this is your captain ben speaking, we are crousing in life at about 11,000 feet and will be arriving in heaven in approximately…NOW !!! let me just start off by letting you of you reading this know that, well you are all beautiful people, but that we are in ladakh and it is heaven on earth people! I only have one wish in my life right now, that… Read More
The following is a post recently made to our FAQ page that we wanted to include to all of you who might be reading this blog.
Swine flu has recently been confirmed throughout Mexico and parts of the US. A few other countries have also reported possible infections. While we’re in touch with the CDC and monitoring all of the international news we can put our hands on, we also… Read More
Well, sort of. Our half of the group is in Ladakh, which is at around 10,000 ft. elevation. The four of us agree that this is one of the coolest, most amazing places we’ve ever been to, hands down.
To get here we took an overnight bus from McLeod Ganj to Delhi, which wasn’t exactly fun, but was actually more comfortable than some (much longer and less nice) trips I’ve… Read More
SO!we just finally landed in Varanasithe previously lush land of FAR too many peopleis now dusty and deserted.although still amazing.we are currently staying in the plushest and poshest hotel any of us have stayed in, while in indiait is AIR CONDITIONED!!!!!!!!!!let me repeat that AIR CONDITIONED!!!!!!!!!!!and it is so hot here that nothing could be finerexcept perhaps attractive people fanning us with palm branchesbut that just didn’t fit into our… Read More
Ok, lets get down to business.
We finished our time at Deer Park, doing our volunteer work, meditating, hiking, watching sunsets, sitting in the sun and finding a bit of a haven from the madness of India. The boys, aided by Willa, Chrys and Hilary, made a compost system. All in a days work. Karen made a huge statue out of trash for Earth Day. Some of the projects were… Read More
hey there party people-After a long week of traveling we have finally made it to Deer Park in Bihar colony. There is a lot to recap since our last post was from sikkim. So here is goes…From sikkim we took a taxi to darjeeling. Darjeeling was pretty rainy and cold, but we tried to make the best out it. We visited the tibetan self-help center where they sell hand made… Read More
