Preparing for the semester in India
It's 7:36 Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday August 30th, 2005. My sleep these past few nights is often interrupted by moments of excitement and sometimes anxiety. Anticipating long flights, new smells, instant community, hot nights, and wonders beyond what I can’t even begin to contemplate.
As I scurry around these past few days checking off the final things on my errand list, I have to remind myself to stop and breathe. Staying present in the moment is my practice. I have all the support of my friends, family, partner, and my dog, and still I have mixed emotions about traveling across international borders. People ask me if this is my first international trip. My answer is yes, even thought it’s not completely true. You see, I’ve traveled in Canada, but when one grows up in Michigan, going to Canada is like going to Ohio or Chicago. No passport needed. Just a few hours in the car and you’re there. So traveling to India is in far contrast from Canada. And…………………. I can’t wait! So back to packing…. I look forward to sharing this experience via this weblog.
Oh, and about me: I’m Jules and I’ll be you’re main weblogger for the semester. Please feel free to respond… but remember that more personal correspondence is best through email.
What to Bring????
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Greetings from Auroville, South India
Vannakam!
The Living Routes Program for Fall 2005 (though to be frank, it is still the tail end of the summer here) started out with hugs and smiles and whiffs of the sweet smell of jasmine . . .
Having waited in the middle of the night for about an hour at the airport, Rajaveni and I were relieved and excited to see Aaron, Amy, Andy, Brendan, Jules, Katie, Kyle, Kirsten, Liz and Zeno emerge from the interiors of the Chennai airport.
Like most of India, the Chennai airport is a busy place, teeming with life. But we found a quiet spot within and without to hold hands, to introduce ourselves and send a thanksgiving prayer to all those visible and invisible elements who had made it possible for us to come together and to embark together on a new adventure . . .
Riding the bus back home to Auroville with Shiva, the Living Routes driver, at the helm is always special. Despite their tiredness, the students were all wide-eyed at the sights, sounds and smells that India offers . . .and bites of Auroville cookies and sips of home-brewed of chai (Indian tea) kept most of us awake and talking till we arrived at Verite--our host community in Auroville.
Today, the students' first day in India has been slow paced to give them time to adjust to their new surroundings and to get know each other. They are all well and happy, and we hope will be able to contact their family and friends by phone or e-mail, latest by Tuesday evening (Indian Std. Time).
In community,
Bindu (Faculty)
Patience --- sweet patience
I am finally at the internet cafe with resources that i've been waiting for not so patiently -- and i'm at a loss for words. what do our friends and families want to hear from us? well, to begin, Verite is the name of the community in Auroville where we reside. in short, it is our home for the next few months. the community is 100% solar power with no refrigeration and our water is pumped via the windmill. our rooms are luxuriously comfortable with fans, (except Liz, Katie, and Kristen who are still waiting for their fan), cotton sheets, screened windows, and the occasional infestation of ants. I think Amy is a pro at ridding her room of ants. More...
photos!!!!
greetings all!!! finally have access to internet at Verite and i'm able to post some photos... be sure to click on MORE below to see them all! We survived our first week! Everyone is in good health with minor things like sunburn or a mild stomach pain, but overall doing well. Most of us made it to the beach on our day off yesterday (Sunday) and got to splash around in the large (compared to what I'm used to) waves, test our feet on the hot hot hot sand, attempt a bit of body surfing, relax in the nearby hammocks, and learn our lessons about sunscreen!! The repos beach is about a 30-45 minute cycle ride out of Auroville and onto the tar rodes. By the time we arrived... More...
sickies, Tamil language, and Katrina
September 16th 2005
The group - minus the three sickies - with Rajaveni - Learning Tamil language
I sit on a pile of cushions in the beautiful Integral Learning Center, here at Verite. The fans overhead are more than pleasing and the wood floor under my feet reminds me of home in some mysterious way. The blue sky outside today resembles that of the rich blue sky familiar to Colorado. It is hot today, but much less humidity than yesterday. The three gnats flying around my face are annoying me…. but I’m trying desperately to make friends with them as I think that must be what they want, as they seem follow me everywhere. The red clay outside...
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top of the world via the windmill and the rooftop - photos
The windmill at Verite - the triangle shaped platform is our destination
aaron, amy, andy, and jules.... close quarters on the windmill.
Several of our group have frequented the top of the windmill (amy is guessing that it is 65 feet in the air) and I for the first time went up to see the sunset lastnight. Sunset to the west and a full moon in the east with some lightening to the north. It was an awe inspiring sight and somewhat fullfilling just to reach the top.
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Mohanam Instrument research center and Cultural Center
Sunday morning adventures took us to the instrument research center. here young Tamil men learn to make instruments and research is conducted on the traditional instruments as well as how to use new materials - local and sustainable - for the instrument making. After that, we ventured to the Mohanam Cultural Center - the brainchild of a group of 15 to 18 year old boys who were school drop outs - they were inspired by a cultural center they visited in Chennai and decided they wanted to bring a cultural center to their own village. The center has been in existence for five years now and the instrument building center was an offshoot of the cultural center. Here children learn traditional songs, crafts, dances, etc. from village women. These are traditional creative arts that are dying with the elders and this cultural center has been hugely successful in keeping the traditions alive. It was an inspiring morning and the following are some photographs from our adventure. enjoy!
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Trusty 12
I've named my cycle trusty 12. these are what we cycle on to venture about in this place called Auroville in Southern India.
A big Thank You to Jules
Thank you so much for your descriptions of the day to day adventures, and misadventures, and especially for the great pictures!
It means a lot to us ( I'm speaking for parents here) to see you all and hear what you are up to. Its wonderful, please keep it up!
another hot day in India
today the sun is hot but the breeze is cool and strong enough to make wind chimes kiss. We've been visiting so many communities, farms, etc. this week as we view possible internship sites. Tomorrow we will have to solidify our plans for the faculty and most of us have decided. A few are still oscilating between what might be fun to do here and what might be more aligned with future ambitions. Personally, I believe...
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