Final reflections from India
We recently arrived back in Delhi for our final stay in India!! For the past week we’ve been in Mussoorie, once again surrounded by the beautiful Himalayas. While we were there we stayed at Woodstock, an international boarding school. It was a very peaceful and relaxing place. During our stay we did some hiking, played....
Village life in the Himalayas
This past week was an incredible cultural experience in which we learned about village life in the Himalayas.聽 We were connected to the villages by a local NGO called SIDH, or the Society for Integrated Development of the Himalayas. This organization helps provide a good education to rural children by giving them a solid base....
The astonishing beauty of India
Returning for our final stay in the colorful state of Rajasthan, we arrived in the city of Udaipur, renowned for its multiple, majestic lakes. We spent some time touring local attractions such as the massive city palace and recuperating from the weary fatigue that accompanies intense travel. After a couple of days of sightseeing and....
Reports from the India/Pakistan border
Amritsar proved to be a very interesting learning experience for me. While it wasn’t my favorite city, we saw some fascinating sights. Our first stop in the city was Jallianwala Bagh, or the site of the Amritsar Massacre. I first remember learning about this in high school when we watched the movie “Ghandi,” but to....
Expedition to the Himalayas
We were welcomed to the Himalayas, yet another one of India’s myriad regions and climates, by a thrown bucket of blue dye. Covered by this hooliganism that had somehow stolen through the cracked window of our car, thoughts of Delhi and Rajasthan, Kolkata and Kerala, were wiped from our minds, replaced by the snow-covered mountains....
Elephants, camels, the desert, and more
You can’t go to India and not ride elephants. With that in mind, we found a place in Jaipur that would take us on a brief half-hour ride through the city. We rode four people to an elephant, not including the driver, and created quite a spectacle as we explored the city in a single....
Reflections on an Indian heritage
Growing up as a young child my parents, my father being Indian himself and my mother being Caucasian, kept my background alive. As my brother and I grew up we had tastes of the Indian culture through food, music and souvenirs that my parents had from their journey, as well as adoption picnics when our....
A weekend at the beach
Last Friday came just in time! The week of class leading up to it was starting to make us all a little tired and worn out. Everyone had Hindi for 2 hours (in addition to all the homework that was given), as well as our secondary class. My secondary class was yoga, which took place....
Cultural arts at Vijnana Kala Vedi
I arrived in India just over one month ago. Since that time I have seen many things and learned a lot about both India and myself. Our extensive travelling during the first few weeks led me to be extremely excited for arriving at Vijnana Kala Vedi, a cultural arts center here in Kerala, where our....
Reports from Southern India
Being in Southern India has been a pleasant change. The weather is hot, there are palm trees everywhere, we can actually see the countryside, the people are friendly and we eat with our hands off of banana leaves. The past week has been very eventful. In the city of Guruvayoor, we saw a Theyyam, which....