Last weekend, my roommate and travel partner Tiffany and I traveled to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi. It was what I expected India to be: colorful, chaotic, overwhelming, heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once. It was an intense experience falling on the heels of an already intense week. This trip seemed fitting considering the events that … More All We Need is Love
Life gets distracting. I so easily get wrapped up in to do lists, schedules, meetings, and activities. I get so wrapped up inside my head that I sometimes forget there is a big, beautiful world out there. I have been attending Sangha meditation group more regularly this spring, and it’s helped me realize how much I need to … More Live Compassion
Last week I took a couple days off and decided to venture down to the southern Indian state of Kerala. Solo. I haven’t done a lot of travel on my own. It proved to be intense at times, but there was something deeply satisfying about being in an unbelievably beautiful place with just me, my … More Kerala: My World As It Is
This past week at school has been amazing. We set aside our curriculum and lesson plans for the week and were immersed in a variety of activities to learn about and celebrate India! We saw a variety of performances, tried our hand at pottery, block printing, yoga, and chapati making, and learned about many of … More A Beautiful Tradition
As my friend Tiffany and I were traveling last weekend in the small town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, we were talking about the challenge of trying to describe our experience to people back home. How do you describe a place like this – that is so full and so deep and so different from … More Describing Pushkar
Many cultures have their own celebration this time of year and many of these celebrations involve lights, helping to illuminate these shortest days of the year. For Hindus, this celebration is known as Diwali. Historically, Diwali marked the end of the summer harvest. Spiritually, this holiday signifies the victory of good over evil and people participate … More Diwali: Festival of Lights
One of the things that has struck me the most during my first few months in India is the contrasts that exist side by side. It is quite normal to see a Hindu temple, a Muslim mosque, a Sikh temple, and a Catholic church on the same block. The wealthy and the poor coexist in very … More Delhi: Ordinary and Extraordinary
Friday was a holiday here in India for Gandhi’s birthday, and we took advantage of the long weekend to do a road trip of the “golden triangle:” Delhi – Jaipur – Agra. It was a weekend full of amazing experiences! We left Delhi bright and early and settled in for the 5 hour ride to … More The Golden Triangle
We had a three day weekend and decided to head up north to the small city of Dharamsala in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is a community for many Tibetans living in exile and is the main residence of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I started the day with a … More Mountains and Magic Views
Last weekend, we set off to Neemrana for our first trip outside of Delhi. After the stress of the events that had transpired the previous week, a weekend get away from the chaos of the city was needed. After a long five hour bus ride through heavy traffic, we pulled into the little town of Neemrana … More Neemrana Fort Palace
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