(how this posting ended up on the arts & religion blogpage, i am not sure….)one last request from your trip leaders before our monday departure: we’ve devised what we hope will be a fun, creative project for the length of our india trip but it requires some participation on your end. we’d like you to bring some small, meaningful objects (maybe that at this point could fit in a small zip loc baggie?) it could be some small photos of your family, a rock from your garden that reminds you of home, a small icon or keychain that reminds you of the best friend you won’t see for the next few weeks, etc. anything that is sacred and meaninfgul to you—— and s-m-a-l-l! we’ll explain what we’re going to do with all of these things when we start out in delhi but we want you to come with some things from home and you’ll have the opportunity to add more things as we go through the trip. i am bringing some small photos and other trinkets, just to give you a idea. the more personalized it is, the better your project will be!  

It was a long long flight but we finally arrived in hot and humid Delhi!!  We are checked into our Delhi hotel and everyone is tucked away in their rooms.  Sadly, we did have one missing bag (not a huge surprise!), but the airlines promises to deliver it to Bangalore within the next few days.  So, it shouldn’t be a problem.  Our wake-up call for our next flight is in less than 6 hours…time for some much needed sleep!

 Will update you more as we are settled and start ‘experiencing’ India!!

Everyone says ‘namaste’ to family and friends!

2 trips departed- we’re next!  i’m more and more excited as i read the other sage postings from the community service and arts and religions trips.  i hope you are getting your bags packed, your last minute items taken care of and spending time with friends and family. you are going to have some wonderful stories to tell and photos to share in a few weeks when you return home.  but in between now and then, there’s so much of india to learn about and explore!  see you soon,-joy

And we’re off….

In a few hours we’ll all be checking-in, bidding farewell to our luggage and boarding planes to Newark!  And then we FINALLY get to meet the group and start getting to know each other!

Just a note to all our blog fans (if there are any)….we will try to post as often as we can given our schedules, access to internet cafes, and the occasional ‘power cut’. In the mean time, please leave us comments–we want to hear from you + they make us feel good!

Until the next internet cafe….

Our Delhi-bound flight leaves in less than 44 hours! Yahoo!

Looks like we might be getting wet in the coming days–rain and thunderstorms predicted! And I just received an email from our orientation site in Bangalore:

     “Just a word of warning- the monsoon is about to hit!! Bring wet weather coats and umbrellas!”

Click on the links below to see the 5-day and extended forecast (if we can trust it!). Just in case, pack your rain gear in your carry-ons!
Here is the latest forecast for the cities we will be visiting:

(sorry, no cool weather stickers for Madurai and Pondy, click the links below)
Madurai

Pondicherry

Welcome to the Arts & Religion Summer SAGE Blog!! This is April and I (Kirsten)–your FEARLESS leaders!! We met last weekend in Colorado with the other team leaders and staff–lots of great ideas, planning and fun! We have lots of activities planned for our travel to India and our itinerary is packed full when we arrive. We have a lot of ground to cover–literally thousands of miles! Lots of temples, churches, and other religious sites to visit–unlike anything you’ve seen before! Not to mention all the shopping, spice markets, orphanages, dance classes, art lessons, cooking demos, and maybe we’ll even get to see an elephant or two! Oh, and we will be in India for 22 full days, which means we have 66 opportunities to eat delicious Indian food–idli, dosa, sambar, rasam, rice, naan, palak, payasam, chai, mysore pak, and LOTS of curd!! Yummmy!! There is so much April and I are looking forward to sharing with you and showing you during our three weeks in India! The entire country, all its people, every temple and each market is a new opportunity to learn about the culture and how over 1 billion people on the other side of the world live! It’s going to be a summer like NEVER before!

A few things you can do before we depart:

–start drinking 3-4 litres of water a day (you WILL need it)

–eat yogurt, it will help keep your stomach healthy!

–walk around the block with your backpack….are you sure you need EVERYTHING?

See you in Newark on Thursday!!

Kirsten

t minus 7 days and counting! as we get ready to depart for india, elliott and i would like to say how excited we are to meet all of you and share in the adventures that await. see you in newark next monday! -joy