Hello Family and Friends,

After a few minutes on the internet yesteday in Bangalore we made our way to the train station and boarded the Kochivelli Express for Cochin.  It was a 12 hour journey.  We had packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from Sangam and bought bananas, chips and cookies at the station for our dinner.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their first (and only) Indian train experience, and most were able to sleep during the overnight journey.  We landed up in Cochin (in the state of Kerala) at 4:30 this morning.  Everyone went straight to bed for several hours.  This morning we have some down time and have been able to make some calls and have found an internet place near the hote.  So, while we are in Cochin we hope to have better access to communication than we did in Bangalore.  This afternoon we have a guide to show us around Fort Cochin and this evening we have a Keralan cooking class and dinner planned.  It is wet and hot here…a change from the cool climate of Bangalore!  Everyone says ‘hello’ and is doing well!

We will try to upload some photos soon, but please be patient as we have a tight schedule and internet is sometimes hard to reach and slow at best!   Thanks!  –Kirsten

Hi Parents & Friends,

Our apologies for not updating the blog more since Delhi.  After arriving in Bangalore we have been VERY busy with dance and music classes as well as visiting an orphanage and public school.  We also attended a Christian wedding in the village we were staying in. Unfortunately, we had NO access to internet in the village–so this is the first time we’ve gotten online since Delhi!  However, we did finally find an international phone and everyone has made calls (or left messages).  All in all it has been a FABULOUS first week!  We were all sad to say good-bye to our lovely hosts at Sangam Arts Center.   We asked all the students to write a “shout out” to their friends and family back at home.  Here are notes from the students:

“Everything here [India] is AMAZING but I miss my MOM [yes mom I miss you like crazy.] I also miss In n’ Out. I want a double-double animal style and gigantic milkshake and some fries [chili cheese fries]. I miss LA and everyone else. Everything here is amazing. I’m so glad I came b/c the culture is so interesting and EVERYONE is friendly, and the little kids are cute and I just want to take them all back home

I MISS EVERYONE!  LOVE YOU MOM”     –Ana

” India has been quite an experience already. So much fun and meeting new people. Despite what I was originally told about India’s hot weather, it’s been quite cool in Bangalore. The food is amazing along with the sights and what I have been learning from SAGE and Jyoti. Even though I’m having a blast, I miss my loved ones. Also chicken, pizza, steak, fries and soda…We will be home soon! Peace!”  –Amy

“Today was a day to remember forever. The children were even more enthused than expected. Just to see the look on their face is priceless.  This unique experience will never be overlooked in the following years. I wish everyone could charish the moments of my Indian journey.” –Teebo

“I planted some spinach in Roshan’s garden. Then after lunch we went to the school. Woohoo!  I miss Southern American Food and….”  –Jeremy

“I miss eating meat! And I miss my mom! We’re having a lot of fun and we’ve learned so much! I miss my friends and my boyfriend. But it is amazing here.” –Beth

“Wow! Being the minority in a foreign country is awful. The people here are so kind and generous though. This trip has already been such a great life experience. Two weeks left! I miss everyone back in the states! Love you guys!”  –Shawn

“The food her eis great. It’s vegetarian heaven. I just want my mom to know that I’m happy and healthy and that I love and miss her.”  –Althea

“Hey!  Mama, Papi, Avertido, Dannt and Ziggy, I miss and love you all a lot. Take care of Ziggy puppy! Please do not worry too much because India is great! I’m having a great time! See you all soon.” –Valeria

“Yesterday we went to a girls orphanage and I really enjoyed playing and talking with all the kids. Playing frisbee and modeling in “super” poses was a terrific experience and they all seemed so happy and appreciative. :)” –Josh

“I miss chicken.” –Chris

“Mom, Dad, Hannah, Rudy & Lucy: I’ve been having a lot of fun in India! We’ve been to a wedding and a temple, seen monkeys and schools, taken a shower from a bucket and eaten with our hands. The weather is so nice here. I really miss all of you and I will call when I can. P.S. Call Mr. Brown for me…ASAP”  –Molly

“It feels great to be back in India gain. Sangam is beautiful and Imo, Kiran, and Angeli’s hospitality has been amazing. We have participated in music, dance and art lessons. Today we planted a garden and worked with the village children. Everyone is healthy, happy and doing well! All for now!” –April

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!

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

Look for posts from the 2008 trip soon! The trip begins July 3 and returns July 27.  More soon!

Natural Beauty In Auroville 

Our digs in Auroville, the American Pavilion, with hammocks…

Tour with Ross, an Australian Aurovilian.

Finally, the beach!

Unofficial mandala.

This group has a good sense of humor.

Today, we visited two temples. The first one we went to was dedicated to Krishna. The second was dedicated to a goddess…i dont remember her name. When we were standing there at the second temple, i saw a lot of bats flying around. It freaked me out.

In my face painting class, me and shannon got our faces done as the hunter. IT looked really cool. And in our music class, we started off by singing the key notes.

Well, thats about it for today!!! Bye!!

    Hello all. it is Thursday here in India and we are nearing the end of our week at VKV. Each of us has learned a lot and , for there most part, enjoying our classes. I myself am taking wood carving and mural painting. I love art in general so these classes are perfectfor me. If it has not been said already VKV offers yoga and a martial arts class called Kalari. Jake and I are the only ones that go. Kalari is very intense and even the most simple moves require strong focus and effort. I have found it to be very helpful, but now after doing it for four days I’m finally begining to feel the pain in my legs.

Other than the usual classes  the group took a brief trip to a metal mirror facility and an art gallery. There are many stages to the creation of these mirrors. I won’t go into detail becuase I’ll put you all to sleep. The creations in the art gallery were mural paintings. It was cool to take a class on something and then to see haw far thos skills can go . Every painting in the gallery took a haug amount of time to create. They all very well drawn and painted. The last