Birmingham Southern College, Alabama, USA to Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India with Tibethomestay

Colin is a senior religion major from Dallas, TX. After graduation he plans to pursue a career in EMS and Fire/Rescue. In his down time, Colin like to read, write, and exercise. Colin signed on to be a part of the India team because he has a passion for seeing different parts of the world and getting to know people from all cultures on a personal level. His main goal for this trip is twofold: first, to experience some real culture shock, and second to make an effort to give back to the people who help him do so.

Joe is a Junior, Urban Environmental Studies major, Political Science minor from Russellville, AL. He is going on this trip to experience an Eastern culture and the tastes, smells, and philosophies that come along with it. In addition to cultural experiences, Joe is interested in the environmental challenges that face India and the world. Joe enjoys food, sleep, Politico, and baby penguins/sloths.

Mark McClish is Assistant Professor of Religion at Birmingham-Southern College. He received his Ph.D. in Asian Cultures and Languages with a specialization in Sanskrit and Indian Religions from The University of Texas at Austin in 2009. His research focuses on religion, law, and politics in classical South Asia, but he also has a strong interest in nonviolence. He is currently nurturing interests in pipe smoking and French food. He does not look anything like Mr. Rogers.

Katie Green is a Junior Political Science major from Birmingham, Alabama. Interested in attending law school, Katie is involved with the Harrison Honors Program and the Distinction in Leadership Studies Program at BSC. While in India, she will be gathering data to complete her independent study capstone for the Honors Program. Her research will focus on how the exile of this community from Tibet has affected (or not affected) views of women’s development. Recently, she has also taken great interest in learning Russian and American Sign Language.

Jackie Walker is the Coordinator of Service-Learning in the Bunting Center for Engaged Study and Community Action. Originally hailing from the cornfields of the north, she moved to Birmingham after graduation from the Ohio State University in 2010 (Go Bucks!). She is particularly interested in spending time in Bylakuppe, India, to get to know the people there and learn from their stories and experiences. Jackie particularly enjoys local restaurants, thrift stores, dancing to particularly terrible pop music and Boy Meets World. She tries to avoid moths, syrup and sinkholes.

Sarah Gilkerson is a Junior Biology major from Atlanta, Georgia. After graduation she is hoping to work in Conservation Biology. This will be her fourth trip with Service-Learning. She is super excited to meet people in Bylakuppe and see what India has to offer. She is also looking forward to the potential opportunity to see elephants. Outside of school and awesome January trips, Sarah enjoys comic books, bad TV cop dramas, and movies where Ben Affleck is from Boston.

Hi my name is Kemian Carson and I am a junior business major from Cartersville, GA (which is 10 mins shy from being considered outside of Atlanta but I still claim it). I have been active in service learning since freshman year and it is one of my favorite things to do on campus. I wanted to go on the trip to Ghana last year but didn’t get to go, but I am kind of glad because I don’t think I would have had as much fun on this trip as I will with these people on this one. I am the Team Dynamic Officer on this trip so I keep the peace and let the smiles hang ten. In my free time I enjoy hanging out with my friends and girlfriend, playing video games, listening to music, watching TV, and watching movies (especially “how I met your mother”). This trip will be awesome and I am going to help it be that way.

Rachel Morgan is a senior English major from Clinton, Mississippi. Next fall, she hopes to attend graduate school in public health and eventually obtain a Master’s International through the Peace Corps. She is excited by this trip as an opportunity to generally shake up her understanding of the world. She enjoys obscure words, hikes, and YouTube videos of cats, but not cats themselves. She does not enjoy having her picture taken.

Shelby Kile is a sophomore Biology major/Urban Environmental Studies minor from Madison, AL. She plans to pursue a career in marine conservation biology. Growing up in an Air Force family, Shelby has had the opportunity to travel and live all over the United States; however, this trip to India will be her first time leaving the country! She is looking forward to the plane ride, the food, the people, and everything in between! She enjoys long car rides, naps, Saturday Night Live, and her cat’s company.

Ginny Nix is Junior from Birmingham, AL. She is majoring in Religion and hopes to later attend grad school to get a double masters in social work and divinity so she can eventually go into social work working with children. She is excited to go to India for many reasons but especially excited about learning about the religious culture. She has never been out of the country and is incredibly nervous but can’t wait to go on this trip! She hopes to see lots of neat animals that she doesn’t get to get up close and personal with here at the Birmingham Zoo (her favorite Birmingham activity) and also hopes that there will be plenty of Indian babies for her to hold and play with in Bylakuppe, India. When she isn’t in India, Ginny likes to snug with her four dogs and watch reruns of The Office, Workaholics, and The League.

Team Meeting at Silver Coin Indian Grill

On Friday we had a team meeting at Silver Coin Indian Grill in Hoover before leaving for break. It was a great time to relax after the first couple of days of finals and a great time to try some Indian cuisine. Favorites of the night were Chicken 65 and Naan and a “less than favorite” was the Salt Lassi. Friday marked one month till departure!

Return to the Hilltop

Students returned to the Hilltop this week, and we met twice as a group for class to talk about the upcoming trip. We were presented with three readings to reflect upon and consider before we depart.

7th Jan

Destination: Bylakuppe

Namdrolling monastery

9th Jan

We Made It

Two 8 hour plane rides later, we have arrived in India. Aside from a couple of small challenges everything went perfectly! We arrived at our hotel at 4 a.m. (4:30 p.m Jan 8th CST). Thanks to all of you who are following us on the blog this month.

Bangalore

January 10th

This morning, we left Natasha Inn at 6 AM and rode in taxis for five hours through Mysore to arrive in Bylakuppe. Once in Bylakuppe, we stopped by the police department to check in with our visas. We went into the building one-by-one, while others sipped coffee and patiently waited their turns with the Indian authorities (!). The head honcho in the department pronounced all of our names incorrectly, and he thought we all looked the same (which is understandable).

After checking in with the po-po, we drove to the Tibetan settlement, Camp 1. This settlement is one of the largest in India and the only location in southern India. We were greeted in traditional Tibetan fashion, which included draping a white scarf on each of us (I apologize for not remembering the proper name for the notion). The white scarves symbolized honor and displayed how excited the Tibetan community was for us to stay with them. There was also a printed banner hung that said, “Welcome students from Birmingham-Southern College!” After finishing our welcome meal, we were introduced to our families. Two students are put with each family. Everyone is very happy with the arrangements and thankful for the unmatched hospitality that the Tibetan community is giving us.

Friday January 11th

Friday was our first full day in Bylakuppe. It was full of many beautiful experiences with the Tibetan Refugee Community. We learned how to make momos (which by the way are AMAZING! And family/friends I am going to attempt to make some for you.) Momos are like dumplings but stuffed with delicious filling and steamed. We were invited to play a basketball game against a group of high school students in the afternoon. We lost by quite a bit, but had a great time. The Tibetan team was very good!

In addition to all of this fun, we started our classes about Tibet. Mr. Dawa Dorjee taught us about the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949. My host father has told me that the Chinese were brutal to the Tibetans. Mr. Dorjee explained more speaking of people being killed for having an image of the Dalai Lama. Many Tibetans have been sent to concentration camps. From 1969 to 1979, 1.2 million people were killed by the Chinese government. Many people fled Tibet to India and other place in the world. Mr. Dorjee described the hardship of the exile. He said that, it was a great struggle.”

All of this has been deeply troubling to me. I had not ever learned about the Tibetan exile and genocide in school. It is very disturbing to think that 24 years after the Holocaust, our world yet again sat by and did nothing. Indeed, China has a lot of power, but does that mean that we shouldn’t stand up for what is right?

January 12th

Saturday is our second full day in Bylakuppe. I must say that with all of the travel and things and all of the minor stops we have been through. That I must be the only person at this point in time that doesn’t have jet lag. Today was a nice and peaceful day……..full of walking and some great relaxation time. Lobsang and our drivers took us to this place a few of kms away and instead of being able to drive down the access road we got to walk, which was very fun experience. After we got to the right are we relaxed for a while and had a picnic. This all lasted a couple hours and then we made our journey back. On hour way back we went shopping for items and fun things at the golden temple shopping complex. Everyone got things for their family and friends and it was a really awesome experience. I got stuff for my brother mom and grandparents. When we got back we had a few hours to ourselves and then we went and had this cool bonfire with some of the kids from around the settlement. They were singing songs to us and they were like mini versions of the cheetah girls, 3LW, spice girls, and a couple performances from our very own little Ricky Martin. It was a very fun and relaxing day and can’t wait for more to come.

Sunday January 13

Today was a restful day with our families in Bylakuppe. Kelsie and I slept in this morning, by which I mean we rose and shone at 8:30 since we have been too exhausted to stay up later than 10:00 in the evening. Our family must think Americans sleep a lot–they’ve gone to bed later and woken up earlier than the two of us every day so far. Case in point: one of us is napping right now.

India so far: The journey in Photos

Our first flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt (Everyone is still looking very cheery! After 29 hours of travel this was not quite maintained:)

Prayer Flags and homes in Bylakuppe! It is a simply delightful place to spend our Exploration Term.

January 14th

This morning we started another morning with classes. Today we learned about the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism from a monk from the Sera Monastery. It was very interesting and such a unique opportunity to learn from someone who has dedicated his life to the religion. One thing I did not know before our lesson was that Tibetan Buddhism is the only branch of Buddhism to believe in reincarnation.

After our lessons and a delicious lunch we went to a school to practice English with students. The school was the Tibet Children’s Village, a boarding school in Bylakuppe. The topics of our conversations ranged from One Direction to career plans to the political situation in Tibet. It was awesome to talk to people close to our age and learn about their lives. Our conversations also made me realize just how popular Facebook and Gangnam Style are world-wide.

At the end of our evening we watched a movie about the Dalai Lama and Tibet-China relations. The hope of the Tibetan people to return to their country and the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nonviolence throughout the conflict is quite inspiring.

January 15th

Our day began with a class on Tibetan history, the present, and the future. Our teacher, Karma Sithar, presented a PowerPoint highlighting major kings of Tibet and Dalai Lamas. He also gave demographics of Tibet as well as a brief overview of the indigenous religions. After class we helped make lunch, yet again! We have learned that Tibetan cooking is not our team’s forte. It takes a lot of technique that we Americans just cannot master! We leave the cooking to Cooking Pala. Today we made small doughy treats that resembled shell pasta. They tasted a little like cheese and a lot like sugar… it was a very strange meal. The team has dubbed this meal “sugar ears.”

We took a quick break after lunch and reconvened in the community center to hear from the Tibetan Youth Congress. The Dalai Lama would like to autonomously remain a part of China; however, the TYC is calling for the complete independence of Tibet. The TYC is striving to make the rest of the world aware of the Tibetan crisis and hopes that, in return, pressure will be put on China to free Tibet. The most effective way to convey their anguish as despair, according to the TYC, is though self immolation. As of January 12, 2013, there have been 96 self immolations. It was very upsetting to see footage of these events and the brutality suffered by the Tibetans. Although this class was filled with a lot of heavy material, I think we all gained a better understanding of the TYC’s cause as well as a better understanding of where we stand on some of these issues we see in today’s headlines.

We went to the school again today and talked to more of the students. I believe this has proven to be one of the most enjoyable experiences for all of us so far. The students are very talkative and love to ask us questions! The students I talked to today asked me questions from “Who’s your favorite singer?” to “Do you like the Dalai Lama?” to “Do you have Facebook?” Needless to say, we never run out of things to discuss! And for the record, I love the Dalai Lama.

We made one more stop by the market to get some American food– Coke, Lays, chocolate– and made our way home! We are now all sitting in Jackie’s homestay enjoying some WiFi!

I will leave you with the wise words of Mark McClish, “Alright, y’all, keep it real.”
Mom, Dad, O, I love and miss you! I am WOFSD.
-Shelby Kile

January 16th

The day began relatively early at 6:30 a.m., in order to allow us to don (by which I mean “be donned in”) traditional Tibetan attire. That alone was an experience. When Dr. McClish put on his chupa – a sort of long tunic worn over the clothes – our grandmother or amala walked into the room and, for reasons I still don’t understand, immediately started laughing. And that, I fear, was only the beginning. The coup’d’grace of the affair was quite frankly me. Amala began dressing me in shirt and chupa before I had the chance to put my pants on (before you spit out whatever beverage you happen to be drinking, it should be noted that I did still have the shorts I slept in on). She simply went at it, tying knots and tucking folds until, finally, she noticed my sasquatch-esque legs peeking out below the hem of my chupa. She made fun of me a little, laughed, and walked out so that I could get my clueless American self fully dressed.

Now, there was a reason for all of this tomfoolery. In the Tibetan community, Wednesday is Sangsol, the most auspicious day of the week. Tibetans classify the days of the week into three categories (pardon my criminal over-simplification): auspicious, neutral, and bad luck. Each day – from what I could gather – falls somewhere on a spectrum defined by these three categories. Wednesday falls on the most auspicious end of the scale due to the time of the Dalai Lama’s birth.

The ceremony is fairly simple, and involves the whole community. It was an honor for us to be included. What happens (based solely on my observations) is as follows.

As people arrive, they place various offerings on a fire started by the village leader. At some cue I did not catch, everyone forms a circle and begins to chant as someone (in our case the village cook, which may or may not be significant) walks the circle with a plate of sand, from which everyone takes a pinch. At the end of the chant, we hold the sand high and throw it into the air. To wrap up, the community shares and chants over tea, then parts ways to go about their days. I did not ask what was being chanted. There was a LOT of chanting. For our merry band of students, it was a simple matter of standing quietly and looking happily out of place, but I think we each gained something from the experience.

Rocking the Tibetan threads

After Sangsol, we each went back to our respective homes for breakfast and reconvened at 9:00 for our first session: a firsthand telling of the life story of Lundhup Dorjee, a village elder. Here was a man who had endured ten years of Chinese occupation and subsequently escaped from Tibet relaying his story to a bunch of Americans who, not even a week before, were relatively ignorant on the issue of Tibet. At times, he said, he was prepared to die; at times he was prepared to kill. The man’s journey was nothing short of astounding, rivaling the epics of Homer and Tolkien with the one thing it had that they didn’t: cold, hard, fact.

Very quickly we ran over the allotted time, but at first no one seemed to notice, so enthralled were we with Lundhupla’s story. I imagine we looked very similar to a group of children wrapped up in a story being told to them by their teacher – eyes wide, mouths agape, tuning out the present in favor of the past. Lobsang, who was filling the role of translator (Lundhupla didn’t speak a word of English), never seemed to tire despite the fact that he had heard this story many times before. He wrote down every word before translating.

At the story continued, we all admittedly started to feel the effects of sitting on the floor for an extended period. We began shifting and shuffling around in attempts to restore blood flow to cramping hips, knees, and feet. Some started to fade due to the early morning, while others only seemed to get more engrossed.

At the end of his telling, Lundhupla gave us his sincere thanks for taking the time to learn about the Tibetan struggle. This sort of humility has been a theme since our arrival in Bylakuppe.

Old Man Ears

Afterwards we had lunch. I think it has been well established in previous posts just what an experience lunch with Cooking Pala is, but in case I’m wrong, let’s just say it’s the craziest part of our day.

Yesterday we ate what we affectionately called “Sugar Ears.” Today, more ears, but in a seeming reversal from yesterdays’ sweetness, they were (according to Cooking Pala, not the machinations of our over-imaginative minds) old man ears. It seems with every new cooking adventure one of us is much more capable in molding the doughy creations into their shape of the day than the rest. Today that person was Sarah. She put us to shame with her technique (“make a cannoli, then pinch”).

TWA former President

After lunch we hurriedly packed into cars and headed into town for what many would call the highlight of the day: a meeting with the executive council of the local branch of the Tibetan Women’s Association. Their presentation was brief but dense, detailing each of the myriad aims and objectives of the organization. After the talks came the highlight of the highlight in the form of a Q & A session. Our questions were widely varied, ranging from the simple “are there any men in the TWA,” to the extraordinarily complex “why is there so little violence against women in the Tibetan community, and how can we achieve that in America.” For every question there was a detailed answer provided by the chapter’s former president. On our departure, we were each draped with a traditional Tibetan religious scarf.

After our eye-opening session with the TWA, the group took a short break for coffee while I was being confronted with the harsh reality that my wardrobe troubles had not ended. As some of us were walking down the street (in the middle of town, mind you), my chupa quite literally started falling off of me. In the smartest move any of us could muster, Dr. McClish suggested we step off the street and around a corner relatively out of sight so I could attempt the monolithic task of putting my garb back together.

Right then I experienced the most fortuitous event of my entire life. I don’t know how I amassed enough karma to make this happen, but at that very moment a pair of monks happened upon us. They saw what I had managed to do to myself and took pity. So much pity, in fact, that the stopped to help. As I stood there, thanking a past self for the good behavior, the monks proceeded to re-dress me effortlessly to the tune of my profuse thanks in harmony with the laughter of Dr. McClish and Kelsie. One of them then draped me again with my scarf, as if to say “Take this blessing. You obviously need it.” Yep. That happened.

After being dressed and catching up with the group, we all ran another fire drill back to the cars and went to a local school (different from the one we’ve been to a few times) where we had further conversations with students. Among the questions I was asked: will self-immolators reincarnate as humans or lesser beings (suicide is bad, but sacrifice is good)?

Like I knew! I didn’t have a clue, but this kid had blown my mind. I definitely was not thinking about that kind of thing when I was sixteen.

After conversations both deep and shallow, smooth and awkward, we returned to base, where we had a reflection session and ended our day. It was a long one, but rewarding. I watched as each one of us, at different times, experienced our own personal moments of growth.

January 17th

Today I begrudgingly got out of bed after Shelby, who got up at the crack of dawn (7:40), opened all of our windows and let the bitterly cold air rush in (I really actually love her). After breakfast, which consisted of baklap (I understand this to be the correct spelling after consulting for a good two minutes with Jackie’s host mother, Namgyal) and butter and peanut butter, we went to the community center for our first class of the morning with a man name Sonam Tsering who taught us about the history of Tibet before 1959. He spoke exceptionally good English and that was helpful for my understanding of the lesson.

We took a break around 11:00 and went back to our host homes for a bit before congregating again for lunch (there were hard-boiled eggs!!). After lunch we had another class with Sonam’s wife who talked about the history of Tibet after the Chinese invasion. She was an incredibly pleasant woman and I very much enjoyed listening to her speak. After class we loaded into two cars (Sarah rode side saddle on the scooter) and headed to a school in fourth camp to play basketball with the boys’ school team. We were behind for most of the game until McClish stepped in and used his height to our advantage. On our way back to camp we stopped at a roadside stand/shop thing and got some cold drinks (there were Coke products displayed in a Pepsi cooler?).

After class we loaded into two cars (Sarah rode side saddle on the scooter) and headed to a school in fourth camp to play basketball with the boys’ school team. We were behind for most of the game until McClish stepped in and used his height to our advantage. On our way back to camp we stopped at a roadside stand/shop thing and got some cold drinks (there were Coke products displayed in a Pepsi cooler?).

Once back at camp we all returned to our homes for a bit before reconvening at Colin and Mark’s house to watch a BBC documentary on the history of Tibet. There was some pretty neat footage of Tibet and activities taking place in Tibet before 1959. Everyone laughed uncomfortably when we saw footage of a man doing the ‘sky dance’ which consisted of him climbing up a very long rope, stepping onto a pole, and doing a sort of breakdance while simultaneously trying not to fall to his death. The voiceover explained that in Tibetan culture, it was said that mothers didn’t die from disease but rather from worrying that their sons would be chosen to perform the sky dance.

I’m exhausted and in somewhat of a hurry to get this all down so I apologize for a lack of grammar and punctuation.

“You might turn on the T.V. and not once hear ‘Tibet’…but for us, it’s our survival. It’s our identity.”-Sonam Tsering

January 18th

The morning speaker in a small group before lunch

Good afternoon from Mysore, Karnataka. The day started about 30 minutes earlier for us today because I (Joe) had to pack for our trip to Mysore. The morning started with a good cup of Indian Coffee (super strong coffee with milk and sugar) from Cooking Pala (Tibetan Father) and a wonderful breakfast and a couple of cups of Chai (Indian Tea).

Afternoon speaker beginning class

Our first class was with the same speaker from yesterday afternoon (she’s an amazing speaker) on the topic of human rights in Tibet since 1959. She cited the Tibetans’ lack of government influence as a major reason they are disadvantaged and said that some of the gravest human rights atrocities are the destruction of Tibetan Buddhism and the destruction of the fragile environment in Tibet. The morning class was followed by lunch (Prepared by Cooking Pala) and a class with Tsering Phuntsok. Tsering teaches at the Tibetan school in Bylakuppe and he spoke on the current situation for Tibetans in Tibetan and those in Exile. Check out the video below to see more on the current situation inside Tibet (be forewarned…it’s graphic).

Ginny after she got a blessing

After class we began our trip to Mysore. Mysore is about three hours from Bylakuppe and the trip was mostly uneventful. We stopped along the way for coffee and the car ride was filled with conversation and 20 Questions-like games. We arrived in Mysore in the late afternoon and immediately checked in at the Parklane Hotel in Mysore. After a few minutes to get settled into our rooms we walked a few blocks to the market. For many of us it was our first experience in such a large outdoor market. Anything could be bought from fresh produce, to paint powder, to wood carvings. After the fun at the market, we went back to the Parklane to dinner (with finger chips) and a hot shower followed by a night’s sleep in a soft cozy bed.

Gandhi Statue in Mysore Bell tower in Mysore

January 19th

We started the day visiting an ornate palace in Mysore. The outside of the palace was carved in intricate patterns with figures of protectors, beloved animals, and other gods. The inside of the palace hosted shrines for different gods. There were people inside the palace providing blessings as well.

After leaving the palace, we visited a state-owned craft emporium. The emporium sold sandalwood carvings, brass figurines, jewelry, pillowcases, wall decorations, incense and incense burners, as well as other handmade projects.

I believe one of the most eventful parts of the weekend in Mysore was our first ride in Auto-Rickshaws. Basically, they are 3-wheel lawnmowers with covers on them and extremely exciting. The roads are so unorganized, but we go with it. No one has gotten hurt yet..

Since our stay in India has been busy every day, we spent the rest of the night relaxing before heading back to Bylakuppe. And, although the food at the hotel was pretty good, we all missed the food that our respective Ama Las (mothers) have been making for us.

January 20th

On Sunday, we packed up and left Park Lane Hotel in Mysore. From there we set out for the Kasava Temple. It was this beautiful 13^th century Hindu temple. The structure is a very complex geometric pattern. You could spend hours looking at the various intricacies of the sculpted stone walls.

After the visiting the Temple, we journeyed back to Mysore to eat lunch and buy some cooking ware for the community. We have been eating at the community center in the camp every day, and we discovered that they have to rent some of the hot case (sort of like a crock-pot). We decided to buy them some just for the community to use for events.

Lunch was at McDonald’s, which was very overwhelming actually. You would think that it would be a familiar place for us, but it was very hectic and crowded. The chicken nuggets tasted the same though.

We spent most of the day traveling, and when we got back we enjoyed time with our families. My host-mother taught me how to crochet, and we talked about the differences between America and India. The major differences seem to be: driving, schools, clothes, and relationships to dogs.

I am sad to be leaving Bylakuppe so soon, but I am excited to see all of my loved ones! I miss you guys!!

January 21st

So today was one of the most exciting days yet. Besides the fact I had to wake up about a half an hour earlier. Today was follow a monk day. It was just an amazing experience to walk around with the monks and see them debate about different topics using their debating monk style. They debated about some real serious topics like “Is sound matter?” and “Does every action have an effect?” I got to learn more and more about how monks go through everyday life, and how some of them chose to be there for various reasons. This is cool because most of the time the parents would just send one of their children’s to be a monk because it’s just a sign of holiness. I followed a monk whose reasoning for becoming a monk was not because he had to but because he knew his family was poor and that he thought it would be nice to become a monk. I am glad I got pared up with Tenzin because he had been at the school/monastery since he was 13 and now that he is 28 he is one of the eldest monks at the school. This school is nice because it is the monastery that the Panchen Lama, who is the second highest ranking lama behind Dalai Lama. He has been missing for the past 24 years but the monastery has still kept their faith that they will find him one day.

The rest of the day was pretty nice we got to go to the market again and I am pretty sure that everybody finished all of the shopping for their gifts today. I do wonder sometimes if everyone has accounted for all of the things they have bought and if they can fit all of these things into the bags they have brought.

We had a great reflection were we summed up some of the things that we experienced the last couple days and how we are going to connect with our family these last few days we have here. I know that y’all have enjoyed the blogs I have done I hope you enjoy all of them but especially mine.

January 27th

It’s been a long week and one that has clearly (due to lack of any posts) been a bit too congested with final meals, performances, hugs and tears goodbye to have time to update the blog.

We’re currently at Waterwoods Kabini for our reflection retreat. We’ve been busying ourselves eating their delicious food, swimming in the pools, doing a few tricks on the trampoline and, of course, spotting tigers and elephants on safaris (what more could you want!) We’ve also had some fantastic final reflection time.

Today we begin our journey back to the good ol US of A! We’ll be heading to Bangalore late this afternoon and getting on an early Monday morning plane to Frankfurt and then back to Atlanta! I think we are all looking forward to getting back home, but I know I am also sad to see this time go.

We’ll update our final week of blogging soon! Thanks for spending the month with us on the internet machine!

Birmingham Southern College, Alabama, USA to Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India with Tibethomestay

Who? When? Why?

Lufthansa Airbus A330-300

Who?

When?

Birmingham-Southern has a 4-1-4 academic calendar. Explorations Term is from January 3-31. This group will spend a majority of that time in India.

Why?

This project focuses on cultural immersion through service, allowing students to examine and reflect on the history of the Tibetan exile and cultural assimilation in Indian communities.

Team Meeting at Silver Coin Indian Grill

Return to the Hilltop

7th Jan

Destination: Bylakuppe

Namdrolling monastery