Shanti visits the Taj-Then heads to Varanasi!

Shanti Selfie Love

Shanti Selfie Love

This past week we’ve been in Agra, Varanassi, and the long railway in between. Our one full day in Agra was spent celebrating a birthday at the Taj Mahal. Other than the mahal, Agra was smelly and crowded. We went to a semi-abandoned mall with a haunted house which gave Caroline nightmares. We drank tea at an enlightening cafe run by victims of acid attacks. Then we took an overnight train to Varanassi. Our time in Varanassi has been spent interning with local artisans. Monet, Kelsi and I learned the Tabla from a man named Rinku ji. His brother taught Jon, Alex and Donovan Sitar. Jon loved it so much that he bought a sitar of his own! Georgia learned stone carving. Kenya, Paulo and Caroline learned to paint Ganesh. Varanassi has been a beautiful city, and I think it has been our favorite so far. Our favorite cafes has been Ashish and Aum. Our favorite activity (other than following small children into bat-filled abandoned forts) has been drinking chai on the steps overlooking the burning gats on the Ganges.

Off to Bodhgaya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Varanasi Sunsets

Varanasi Sunsets

Meet the Esperanza Cohort

Lindsey R. Crowe is 20 years old and was born in the upper east side of Manhattan, raised in The West Bronx. Lindsey has three brothers and one sister. She has played soccer for the last 16 years, and softball for 6 years. She speaks some Spanish and enjoys talking with people and learning from them. Lindsey also plays the piano and was in musical theater for 10 years. The reason that Lindsey wants to travel is to figure out where the world needs her and where she can do the best for others. The one value that this woman holds closest throughout life is life itself, and the idea that the fear of death will never hold her back. She says that people like her for being blunt with her honesty, and also that she is CRAZY!! The one person that has greatly influenced her life is her dearly departed friend Griffin. He had taught her some of life's most important lessons, and he is the one that influenced her to come on this trip and take life's opportunities by the bootstrap! Finally, Lindsey believes that people our age are trying their best to find the bliss in life even though there is so much chaos.

Nicholas Langston Hughes is 21 years old and was born and raised with his only sister, Paige, in Portland Oregon, where he has never left until this trip. Although he only speaks English he loves BMX (bike riding). skateboarding, hacky-sacking, and drinking coffee at his favorite local shop, called The Coffee House 5. He dabbles in playing instruments such as the guitar and the flute- a passion that came from the Legend of Zelda. Nick has performed poetry on stage as he is a phenomenal published poet. His dream of traveling around the world comes from his longing to change it-  he specifically wants to explore New Zealand someday. These are some of the many values that guide him. He utterly wants to change the world, doing anything and everything to get there -  even if it involves risking his life! What is easy to learn about Nick is that he is super kind, passionate and very spontaneous, which makes him a great asset to this program. He was extremely influenced by his freshman and sophomore history teacher, Lorraine. She was more than just a teacher to him, she became a very close friend that opened his mind to the wonders of the world that fueled his ideas and passion for change. Finally he describes the people of our age as ignorant, as everything is handed to a lot of people, and they may never get to realize how fortunate we all actually are.

Megan is a 19-year-old student that enjoys photography, skiing and writing. She is 80% fluent in Spanish, and currently resides in the beautiful city of Raleigh, North Carolina. She has 2 siblings a twin sister Sarah and a younger brother named Connor whom she loves dearly. Her past experiences include a small but pivotal role as the dog in the local production of “Annie”, and a crucial role as Fred Weasley from the infamous Harry Potter series.  She finds people our age to be rather exuberant; she values friendship and is extremely loyal. Her life has been most greatly influenced by her freshmen math teacher who helped her cope with some really difficult times. Currently, she is gearing up for her service trip to Central America and could not be more exited, growing up traveling has always been a huge part of her life and furthermore it has been a part of who Megan really is.

Growing up in the suburbs of Long Valley, New Jersey, Mike, a 21- year old student, played with his older sister Beth and younger brother Matt and younger sister Emily. Mike enjoys long walks on the beach, kissing in the rain and salsa dancing. He can also speak some French. Mike wants to increase his global awareness by traveling and experiencing new cultures.  Loyalty is a guiding value in Mike’s life and friends like his sense of humor. Mike’s high school advisor had influenced his life in large ways including helping him put his life in perspective.  If Mike were to stand on stage for the first time and speak about people his age, He would describe them as free and wild.

Andrew is 19 years old and he was born in McMinnville, Oregon but was raised in Portland, Oregon. He has 1 step sister and his hobbies include drawing, making movies, and creating music.  He speaks a little bit of Spanish and knows how to play different instruments including guitar, drums, and base. One of the reasons he wants to travel is because he wants to see different perspectives of the world. Going with the flow but choosing his pace is a strong value for him.

Nancy is 20 years old, was born in Oregon but has strong family ties to Mexico. She has two younger sisters, speaks Spanish, and enjoys drawing as well as other art forms.  She also plays a little piano but its interested in learning more about how to play it. She is a good listener and is eager to experience the different cultures that South America has to offer.

Connor is a nineteen year old from Chicago who is the oldest of three. When he was younger he acted in plays and played the trumpet for four years. Currently he is savvy in fashion and pop culture and enjoys the industry of music and fashion especially. He enjoys being active in sports as well. When it comes to Connor, what people like about him is that he is easy going and therefore fun and funny. The values that guide his life are being true to himself while having and spreading positivity. The reason he has chosen to travel is to get to know the unknown and to further discover himself. From this trip he is going to be digging further into himself so that he can answer his own questions and become more in tune with his feelings/ self. He is most excited about working with sea turtles in Costa Rica. 

Sophia is a nineteen years old as well, who has lived in Portland, Oregon for the past three years but is originally from Memphis, Tennessee. She spends her time with the people she loves and enjoys dancing and live musical performances, in other words, new experiences. She has performed in dance productions and middle-school band concerts on the clarinet. The outdoors is also where she finds the most peace. She is ready and eager to venture out of the United States though to explore all the realms of possibility and culture. She deeply values wisdom, consciousness, and love. So, through this trip she hopes to gain fresh knowledge of these new environments and culture. She is most stoked for working and living on Isla Ometepe learning permaculture and practicing yoga and meditation. “This whole trip will be transformational for all of us. It will give us clearer perspectives and help us become more in touch with our true selves.” 

Esperanza explores Portland

We started the scavenger hunt by getting on the max yellow line and taking it downtown. While riding it we caught glimpses of some of the many bridges in Portland. We crossed the broadway bridge. We got off the max in the pearl district and walked up burnside towards powell's. On the way we stopped at a park where we picked up trash and talked about our connection with nature. I told her about how Portland is filled with parks in every neighborhood. We continued our journey up burnside. We encountered a large group of students visiting from Japan. We gave them warm welcomes to Portland and talked with them about some hot spots in the city to check out and gave them directions towards the downtown location of voodoo donuts. We wished them warm farewells and safe travels and continued on our way towards powell's. At powell's Lindsey and I discussed some of our favorite books. She chose to read me an exert from Life of Pi and I read a snippet from Under the Skin. We chose to get our group a mandala coloring book for our trip, in case any of us needs a break from reading and wants to be creative. After a full galavant through powell's we headed across the street to Buffalo Exchange to check out the second hand scene of pdx. We decided to snag a pack of rings for each other as a token of friendship and the start of this journey. Afterwards we continued to explore portland in the rain. Through out this day of team work we were able to practice acts of mindfulness through kindness and environmental awareness. It brought us closer to each other and our selves. 

-Sophia W. and Lindsey C. 

Today we explored the wonderment that is Portland Oregon. Locals often use the phrase keep Portland weird and believe me they are doing a great job at accomplishing their goal. Our adventure began in north Portland where we waited eagerly to hop on the max. We crossed the bridge, picked up some litter in the park off Burnside, and Mike started off by hugging a homeless woman who said he reminded her of her son. We made our way to Powell's, which was a unique experience due to the strange and abnormal layout of the store. We found a book called Betty Backcountry that was about backpacking and camping in the travel section. Next we ventured to buffalo exchange. There were plenty of treasures in the thrift store like a pin for Mike of rice and beans holding hands and a fanny pack for the trip. The Portlanders showed the east coasters downtown and were able to bond. The group dynamics were great and I feel closer and more confident in the group already. 

-Betty N. and Mike D. 

We had a great day! With a great sense of friendly competition! The first task we completed was taking a picture of the bridges. Next on our list we picked up some trash and completed a few random acts of kindness.

-Nancy O. and Andrew A.

Connor and I spend the afternoon busing around Portland to complete our scavenger hunt. We started off working our way through the list, and found the experience more fun than we had anticipated! Although we did not acquire everything on the list, our day was full of good memories!

-Nick H. and Connor O. 

First Impressions of Quito-Susan Vang

The first day here was amazing. The sight descending down to Quito was beautiful. The giant hills and ravine were a sight to see. I’m in awe as to how they get the houses built up in such places. The heat really hit me once we exited the airport but it was still a beautiful country. All the other people that in this group are amazing and knowledgeable and give helpful advice. I hope to connect with them more and really get to know them on a personal level and hopefully be friends in the long run. The sights here are beautiful, the building here are very colorful with light pastel colors. There a lot of white building but it really adds to the culture here and makes the experience so much more exciting. The other day we went on a walking tour around Quito and saw many many churches where their wood was hand carve and adorn with many biblical figures and paintings by many different artists. The churches are grand especially with the stain glass. We went to many of the plazas and it was really different from home. Every where you go there was people on a street or a corner and it was amazing to see how people here really hustle to make their earning and gains. They are very dedicated and hard working people. Later on we went on a food tour where we ate many delicious food items which many were deep fried but so good in my mouth that I kept shoving food down. The ceviche here is the best and most delicious thing I had put in my mouth. I could literally eat it every day. I ate fish for the first time in a long time. It was not bad. It was flaky and the outside was crunchy. It was good. I wouldn’t mind eating it again. We have today and tomorrow left in Quito before we head on to our next destination. Until next time.

First Days in India

Kenya and Paulo here! Namaste from India!

We have been staying at the Wongdhen house and loving every minute of it. Today is the last day of orientation and we (the shanti group) have been getting to know each other better over various meals at delicious restaurants and a very intense , sass filled game of late night UNO. We have consumed copious amounts of morning chai, because chai is life. Right now we are in the middle of a scavenger hunt, which requires us to post a blogpost and other requirements to help us familiarize us with New Delhi, and India in general. It took some getting used to, but the city is a pretty wonderful, spiritual place. We have already gotten to know parts of the city and get as feel of India, two days ago we visited Raj Ghat, the holy place where Ghandi’s ashes remain. And yesterday we entered a temple dedicated to Kali, the god of death and time: a very crazy experience, but a very eye opening one. India has definitely gotten real, really fast. Did we mention the food already? Well thats a whole different blog post.
Tomorrow we leave Delhi for Jaipur. a six hour bus ride! The girls are getting some traditional Corti’s. It’s still only the beginning and we have seen so much, but there is still so much to see!


-Kenya and Paulo

 


Hello friends, family, or whomever may be reading this blog:
This is our second day here in Delhi, India and so far we are having a fantastic time. We have spent numerous hours getting to know each other and going over group orientation, but have still been able to go out and about through the chaotic streets of Delhi. Honestly it has been totally overwhelming but we are starting to get used to debating Tuk Tuk fares, eating street food, and being awoken each morning to pidgeons and serenades from Indian men. Now we have to go meet the rest of the group in Mugal Gardens. Talk to you soon!

—Haley W. Mathilda, Travon

And....They're Off! The Dharma begins

All thirteen of the intrepid souls of the Dharma cohort met today at the Portland International Airport, ready for the adventure of a lifetime.  Keep checking this blog each week as we post about adventures, big and small!   As quoted by Susan, "why seize the day when you can seize the world!"  Good luck Dharma.  

Sabai Group

Sabai Group

Maya Group

Maya Group

Shanti Group

Shanti Group

Shiva Group

Shiva Group

Inti Group

Inti Group