Darjeeling!

After a quick flight, and a three hour jeep ride up winding mountains, we have found ourselves in Darjeeling. Upon our arrival we were warmly welcomed at our hotel, and offered the tea which Darjeeling is so well known for. Darjeeling is generally the opposite of the crazy hectic city New Delhi. There is a sense of deep serenity and calm which eminates through the land as well as the people who inhabit the land.
After settling into our room on our first day, we decided to explore. We made our way into the main square which consists of an open space surrounded by benches. The benches are occupied with people sitting, talking, and watching passersby. On our first night, we stumbled upon a rooftop with a view that cannot be done justice with words. It was as if we were at the edge of the world, reaching up to the sky, touching the luscious moon, and floating through the clouds. We then mosied back to the square and began playing with some of the native children. Some of the children were very good english speakers, and they taught us a few key phrases in hindi, for example "what is your name?" and "how are you?"
We ran around and played, and soon the english speaking children had to leave. They said sweet dreams, and blew us kisses. The 10 year old girl said "remember, you will always have a friend in India", and continued waving until she was too far away to do so. Left with the hindi speaking children, we were at a slight disadvantage, and repeated the phrases "how are you" and "what is your name" many times. Despite the language barrier, we had a wonderful evening.
The next day, we made a trek down to the Tibetan Refugee self help center. The people that live there are mainly elders and children. The older people do handicrafts that they brought over from Tibet, which they practice with great skill and ease. The work they do varies from detailed rug weaving to knitting and woodcarving, as well as painting and spining wool. The wrinkles on the faces of the refugees are like a map of their lives, tracing smiles and hard times. They are beautiful, and emit an aura of happiness and pride. After touring the self help center we trekked back up to the hotel.
Since then, we have returned to the center to download programs onto the computers for the children to use. We have also been fortunate enough to hear the wise words of Mr. Jambala, a key player in the workings of the refugee center. He has educated us on the genocide that is currently taking place in Tibet. Hopefully we will all be able to spread the word, and do something positive to help.
Namaste for now!

Safe and Sound

I wanted to post something immediately to let you all know that all of the students in all Carpe Diem groups are well, in good spirits, and bedding down for the night without incident. I'm sure some parents have noticed in the news that there've been some bomb blasts in Delhi and the leaders, in their safety-consciousness, have all checked in with me and had this to say:

hey Ethan,

just a quick note to let you know that we are all fine. in case you did not hear, there were 4 bomb blasts in delhi today - less than an hour ago. we have all the students here at the hotel - a little quarantine. nothing happened here in the pahar ganj where we're staying, but one bomb was at connaught place. we're just playing it safe. we will contact the embassy before heading out in the morning just to let them know we're well. sounds like a good night to do some sing-a-longs on the rooftop. or as leaders we can do bollywood interpretative dance. one never knows...

Hey Guys!

Hi everybody.
I cannot believe I am in India. It's amazing. There is so much going on all around us. I love it, and I feel like this is the place to learn a lot about myself. I know we all will. I am trying to learn the language, and people are mostly very nice. There's something magical about India, that's for sure.
Namaste.
Mychal

Hello!

this is Will here! We have landed in India despite certain flight delays! and let me say it is absolutely insane and i love it! the culture is amazing and everyone is very nice and helpful, the energy here is so different from North America and this is exactly what i need. Although getting through the culture shock, Home sickness and jetlag is creating to be quite difficult i have alot of supportive people around me helping me through this amazing journey. I want to extended my gratitude to not only my parents but the parents of all the other travellers as i know they have been a huge positive influence as my parents have been for me. Talk to you all again very soon

Lots of Love

Will

New Delhi

Cheers!
After a hectic trip, we finally arrived in New Delhi at around 2 A.M. and had an epic taxi ride to our first guest house. So far the sights, sounds, and smells are indescribable.

Instead of falling right asleep, I decided to hang out on the roof of the guest house and watch the sun rise. As soon as the sun rose, I could feel the city come alive. Endless amounts of motorbikes and cars racing through the streets, the chorus of Chai vendors, and the presents of the holy cows were mind boggling. Now we are off to explore more of this beautiful city.

Namaste!

Flight Delays

The group is doing fine and as we speak have all their luggage and some good meal vouchers from Cathay Pacific as they've had to make an unexpected stop over in Vancouver, Canada. There were some minor mechanical issues that caused the stopover and subsequent cancellation, but there's some good news. Everyone for INDIA and SHANTI that were booked on the Hong Kong leg have been rescheduled to depart at 3:10pm today on Cathay flight 839. They are scheduled to keep their existing reservation departing Hong Kong and arriving into Delhi on the 12th at 2:05 AM as shown on their regular tickets ... they will basically arrive into Delhi as scheduled, however missing out on the opportunity to explore Hong Kong.

I've just been on the phone with the Travel Consultant at Global Vision Travel and despite the unexpected hiccup, we both were extremely happy to have the pilot make the call to cancel the flight before being stuck over the Pacific ... this is yet another reason we love working with Cathay!

Yours,
Ethan Knight

Notes from the Airport

Well, it's official, they're together and ready! The group leaders just gave me a call and they have their full group - yes, everyone is there! In about three hours they'll be airborne and embarking on a journey of three-months and a thousand experiences.

I'm sure over the next few months you'll have photos of all kinds, calls of many emotions, and growth in more angles than you could imagine. May this be the beginning of a truly momentous and transformative semester!

Yours in spirit and adventure,
Ethan

Hanging in North Portland, testing the photo capability of our blog.  See you soon!

Namaste Shanti

Welcome to the Shanti fall '08 blog!  we will be posting here throughout the semester with all our exciting adventures and experiences.  We are currently in Portland, finishing up some final details and logistics for the semester and are looking forward to meeting you all at the airport on Tuesday and heading off to India!  We will be trying our best to take and post photos to this blog along the way, so if you have a cable to connect your digital camera to the computer, feel free to bring it so you can share your photos.  If you have any questions in the next few days, please give us a call at the office.   Safe travels to San Fran and we'll see you soon.

Namaste,

Adam and Heather