On the Road: Calcutta

We reached Calcutta in the wee hours of the morning and made our way to our hotel- the oldest YMCA in Asia with lots of character.

Oldest YMCA in Asia

In the morning we visited Mother Theresa’s burial site and the Mother House where we learned about her amazing life of sacrifice. Then we toured Victoria Memorial which is a beautiful museum filled with history of the British Raj. Finally, we went for kathi rolls- street food at its finest-before enjoying a free afternoon of shopping and relaxing.

Chrissie, Maaike, and Lydia at the Victoria Memorial

  Happy Easter from Calcutta!! Students enjoyed the free day to explore the city.

Megan, Sarah, Maaike, and Chrissie enjoy kathi rolls

 Monday was very busy- first students visited an organization called Sari Bari which rescues women that were caught in sex trade and teaches them how to sew. The women use old torn saris that have been thrown away and create beautiful blankets and bags. The analogy is striking- taking something considered to be broken, useless, and dirty, and transforming it into something beautiful and of value! Students also visited Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying where thousands of people have come off the street to be taken care of and die in peace. 

10 Reasons to spend your next semester in India

Are you looking into studying abroad next semester and trying to decide where to go? Are you interested in social justice, learning about world religions, good food, wildlife, and adventures? Consider studying abroad with India Studies Program and immersing yourself in the Indian culture!

Here are 10 reasons you should study with ISP:

1. Travel. While ISP is based in the south in Tamil Nadu, one of the highlights of the program is our extensive travel component. During the semester, you will go on three 3-5 day trips to neighboring cities and states to visit people and programs, as well as to enjoy what those areas have to offer including food and famous sites. At the end of the semester you will enjoy an 18 day trip across north India hitting various cities such as Calcutta, Varanasi, Delhi, and Agra! Think Mother Theresa, Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Ganges river...

Batch 5 visits the Taj Mahal

2. NGOs and job opportunities- You can come to India and enjoy all the tourist attractions on your own. But when you study with ISP, you will be introduced to people and organizations that are doing great work here in India. Interested in education, business, sex trafficking, outdoor adventure, or enterpreneurship? We'll show you what opportunities are open to you here and what is already being done.

Shiamala Baby's women empowerment organization

3. Festivals. India is known for its fun and bright festivals. No matter what semester you come, you will have the chance to join in the celebrations. Fall semester students will experience Diwali- the Festival of Lights with lots of fireworks and sweets. Spring semester students will cover each other in bright colored powder when they participate in Holi-the Festival of Colors.

Celebrating Holi

4. Friendships. One of the best aspects of a study abroad experience can be the friends you make, whether those are Indian friends or other American students on your trip. These are friendships that could last a lifetime as you learn from each other.

Camel rides on the beach

5. Adventures. From white water rafting on the Ganges river, to possible elephant rides, to swimming in the Indian ocean in a salwar kameez, to boating on the Backwaters of Kerala, to camping in the wilderness, to train rides- you will find adventure in India!

Repelling down the side of a waterfall

6. Food. There are so many great restaurants and road-side stands to choose from with a variety of delectable cuisines. If you take the Catering class, you will have the chance to learn how to cook Indian dishes!

The Catering class enjoys the fruits of their labor

7. Clothes. All right ladies, this one is for you. India is a colorful nation with gorgeous saris at every turn. Fabrics are very affordable, tailors are numerous, and there are rows upon rows of saris to choose from. If you take the Design class, you will even get a chance to design your very own outfit!

The girls enjoy dressing up in beautiful sarees and salwars

8.Chai. Once you've tasted this sweet milky drink, there is no turning back. One of the great parts of this culture is that there is always time to take a chai break during the day!

Traditional way chai is served here

9. Language opportunities. Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu and is offered as one of our classes. However, you will most definitely meet people from Kerala and be introduced to the Malayalam language and North Indian people who speak Hindi.

Watching a traditional Kerala Kathakali dance

10. Discovering the Divine image. While in India you will come in close contact with people from other faith backgrounds than yourself. What can we learn from them? Learn about world religions and how they are practiced in India.

Convinced? Come join us next semester!! 

To apply, go to: https://www.bestsemester.com/locations-and-programs/india

Memorable Moments: Kerala

On Wednesday morning we woke up on the train to see the sun rising over lush rice paddies and coconut and banana trees as we arrived in ‘God’s Own Country’- Kerala.

Shaina, Lydia, Amber, Chrissie, and Kelly jump for joy by the Arabian Sea

Memories:

     We spent our mornings learning about Economics, the Kerala model of development, and Indian politics from our dear friends at Vichara.

    The following day we went to visit Amma's Ashram. Amma is known around the world as 'the Hugging Saint' who is worshiped as a goddess. This was the second time in ISP history that Amma was at the ashram because she is so busy with her world tours. The students were surprised to see so many foreigners who have come from around the world to learn from Amma and they were curious as to what drew them to her. Adding to the excitement of the trip: there was an elephant at the ashram which some of the students got to feed!

Kara, Shaina, Amber, Chrissie, and Kelly with an elephant at Amma's Ashram

     One afternoon we visited the site where St. Thomas is said to have stepped off the boat and landed in India. What a privilege to sit on the banks and look out to where a man who knew Jesus had once walked. We also visited several churches that Thomas started.

  On our final day in Kerala we went to Fort Cochin for a free day to do the tourist thing. The students could wander off and explore Jewtown, the Dutch palace, a Jain temple, Hindu temples, and the beach. They all got in some good shopping and delicious food before re-gathering in the evening for a Kathakali show. Kathakali is a famous traditional Kerala style of dancing which was quite different from anything we had seen before

Batch 6 with the Kathakali dancers

Transport:

Night trains- We all remember waking up to hear the familiar cry ‘chaaaaiiii, chaaaaaiii, coFFEE, coFFEE!!!!

Party Bus- With the disco lights flashing, wind whipping through our hair, and some loud Hindi music blaring as we all had a party as we danced along.

Camel rides- We arrived at the beach and immediately spotted several scruffy camels with over eager owners. Students jostled on the camels two-by-two down the beach at a trot while I, (Hannah) tried to keep up and jog behind through the sand to take some snaps.

Maaike and Megan riding a camel

Arabian Sea- I’m just going to include this in transportation since all of us who swam got tossed around quite a bit and taken for several ‘rides’ as we were strewn across the sand by the pounding waves!

Boat- I think the boat ride was one of the highlights of the trip because it was so relaxing. The Backwaters of Kerala are called the 'Venice of the East' and boating through them is listed in Lonely Planet's list to do before you die. We thoroughly enjoyed these moments of peace and tranquility.

Boating on the backwaters of Kerala

The Sari

When girls come to India, they often come with a dream to get to wear a sari. Even after living here for several weeks, we are still in awe at the beauty and elegance of all the saris around us!

A couple weeks ago several of the girls went to Town Hall- a more crowded bustling part of the city in order to shop for saris. We were so amazed at the vast variety of colors, patterns, and fabrics of this one simple cloth and had fun sorting through racks and rack of saris. The girls even got to ‘try on’ saris at the shop.

Megan being wrapped by the shop ladies

On Wednesday night we were invited to our first Indian wedding which was the perfect opportunity to wear the new saris. Our very kind Auntie across the hall very generously helped to wrap the girls and make sure we were presentable. Saris pinned securely? Check. Bindi positioned correctly? Check. Ready to go!

All dressed and ready to go!

Amber, Lydia, and Megan at the wedding

While the newlywed couple greeted all the guests, we enjoyed the beautiful decorations and feasted on byriyani, dosa, and payasam!

The newlywed couple

~photo credit Lydia Phoenix

Packing Up and Heading Out!

We can’t believe we only have 5 DAYS left in Coimbatore! The time has really flown! Was it really 3 months ago that students flew into the city and began their experience? Was there ever a time that they didn’t know how to barter for an auto, or dodge across the streets, or eat with only their right hand, or find their way on the bus route by themselves?

Tina in her costume for dance presentation

Tayler's beautiful painting of a traditional Toda woman

Stevie's handmade cookbook, Emma's mobile and the clay pot they made together

 This week is crazy with trying to finish everything up. Students have final papers and projects to complete-art projects to create, a clothing design to finish, and a cuisine final to cook, and an exam to take. Meanwhile, they have to get in last minute shopping, eat out at favorite restaurants and say goodbye to all their friends and the life they have made here.

Faith is exhausted after all her hard work

We leave for our north trip on Sunday evening. It is going to be a wild and exciting ride: 18 days, 76 hours on trains, 7 cities, rafting on the Ganges river, visiting Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying, seeing the foothills of the Himalayas, and of course- taking pictures in front of the Taj Mahal! 

Follow us on our journey across India!

A Snapshot of our Classes

You may be wondering what it is like to take a class in India. Some things are very similar- the prof will give a lecture, and the students studiously take notes. But some things are very different. In India, great respect is given to one’s elders and so students are expected stand up when their professor enters the room. Our students are not actually taking classes with other Indian students. They do however have Indian professors who offer a different perspective on issues than we from our western perspective can see.

Since we are in India, the class opportunities are very exciting! Here is a quick run-down on what our students have been up to lately:

Hard at work cooking

Indian Cuisine- How awesome is it to learn how to cook Indian food IN India! And not only that, but after they finish making a dish, they get to eat it! Somehow or another the ISP director and program assistants seem to find their way to the kitchen around lunch time in order to have a taste! 

Today's creation!

Indian Literature- Students are getting the chance to read many pieces of literature not studied in the west. These authors provide a unique perspective that students are really enjoying.

Indian Social Work- In this class students learn a lot in the classroom on topics of poverty, caste, and social justice etc. It is very important to learn how Indians are helping themselves and working to build up their nation, rather than just the western perspective of us coming to rescue India. One of the benefits of this class is how much learning takes place outside of the classroom! Just on their walk to college or a typical day, students may come across beggars or street children and have to process what they see and decide how to respond.

Indian Design- Where else do you get to design and create your own sari, salwar kameez, or kurta? Students are hard at work creating their own design masterpieces- can’t wait for the fashion show! Meanwhile, they are learning and practicing different forms of design such as tie-dye and batik.

The Master and the Student

Indian Art- This past week students had the chance to try their hand at pottery. The pottery master went over some instructions and then let them try for themselves. Here are some of their incredible pieces!

Final product!

Contemporary India- Students are learning so much in this class, that it is hard to narrow it down. Put simply, this class teaches the history of India up to the present-focusing on important aspects. 

Religious Landscape- This is a very engaging class! Students have the opportunity to not only learn about other religions in the classroom, they also have the chance to visit many of these places of worship to see for themselves what it is all about. Students go on a visit to several Hindu temples, Sikh gurudwara, different denominations of churches, a Buddhist temple, and a Jain temple. Students also interact with neighbors and friends who may be a different religion and have a different mindset then theirs which just expands their opportunity to learn.

A little puja across the hall from the apartment

Next week we are headed to the neighboring state of Kerala (God's Own Country) for classes and various site visits. This will also be the first train trip for the students! There are sure to be some interesting stories!

A Birthday, A Feast, and A Visit from the king

This weekend several of our students were off on another home stay. The rest still had a fun full weekend in Coimbatore with a big Onam celebration at our apartment complex. Yes, you may have already read our blog about Onam- but it is a 10 day festival and our Malayalee neighbors wanted to be home in Kerala for the actual holiday and then celebrate back in Tamil Nadu afterward.

The morning was a flurry of preparations to get our sari’s wrapped properly and get all dressed up. We went outside and found a beautiful huge rangoli (flower design) that had apparently taken 4+ hours to create!

Beautiful rangoli

Soon we heard drumming and a horn being blown so we wandered over to the entrance and spotted… the king! We joined in the parade of people bringing him into the complex. Since everyone else was getting a snap next to the king, we decided to follow suit. Now I must admit that I was a bit disappointed to see that his eyebrows, mustache, and sideburns were filled in with a marker and that he was not a real king! But he did a good job of looking stately and important! 

The King

 There were several traditional dances performed by little elementary girls that were so impressive performing multiple dances with several costume changes. There were also several awards given out, including ‘Best Dressed Couple’ which our director Kirk Ji and his wife ended up winning!

Director and his wife winning the award

One of the little dancers

   After the performances were over, we were treated to a feast of traditional food from Kerala served on a banana leaf! There were so many different side dishes and it was very interesting to taste all these unique flavors. 

Just the start of all the dishes they served us

 This weekend was also one of our student’s birthday. It was definitely a birthday she will never forget-eating a feast on a banana leaf and meeting the king! When all the students had returned from home stay, we had a surprise party with cake. All in all, another good weekend in India!

Birthday surprise!

This coming Friday we are heading out on our first weekend trip to the city of Madurai to visit the famous Meenakshi temple and tour the Mahatma Gandhi museum!