At the airport

Hello friends and families of BCS! The India group had a fun filled last day in India and are at the airport. There flight is currently on time and we don't anticipate any delays. They are looking forward to seeing all of their loved ones in the US. They had a wonderful program. We couldn't be happier with how well the trip ended. Please don't hesitate to call with any questions - 303.679.3412.


Erin Lasky
Director of Operations

day before our departure from India... We woke up earlier than usual in order to prepare ourselves for the final ceremony in celebration of our collaboration with the community in Chinchoti. This preparation involved (for the women, at least) putting on saris, which took longer than expected! We then walked to the local elementary school to gather the students and bring them to the ceremony at the temple. The leaders of the community each talked about the projects and presented Berkeley Carroll students and faculty with flowers. Ms. Fogarty, Felix, and Briyana shared their thanks (in Marathi!) with the community. We have it on film. We then said our final goodbyes, a truly bittersweet experience.

We are now at Kashid Beach on the Arabian Sea. It's beautiful! As we write this blog, dinner is being served and we gotta go! Enjoy the pictures!

As you know, yesterday we finished building the stairs.  So now we're going to tell you about today!  First we had, as per usual, unbelievably delicious breakfasts with our home stay families.  Then all the boys wer late for our meeting (because they thought we were meeting an hour later than we actual were). After that, we all walked to the lake one last time, for the washing steps' opening ceremony.  Some of the Berkeley Carroll girls and Ms. Fogarty learned how to wash clothes on the steps and in the lake.  Then we walked back to the village and began painting murals on the library walls.  There was only one mishap--we splatter-painted a whole wall then decided we didn't like it because it was too much about Berkeley Carroll and not enough about our work together, so we repainted it. After lunch we painted a city and one building had the Indian flag and another building had an American flag, properly symbolizing the unity between Berkeley Carroll and Chinchoti. Meanwhile, people were painting designs and pictures on the other walls of the library.
For lunch we went back to our home stays.  Though we were dripping with paint, they once again fed us an amazing meal.  We then went back to the library and finished painting.  I'm sure all of your kids will show you pictures of the final walls.  Unfortunately, in this wonderful little village, there is terrible wifi.  And therefore you will not be provided with a picture tonight.  No worries, I'm sure you'll live till your kids come home.
After painting, the boys went to play cricket with their new friends from the village.  We then had a group meeting and journaling session.  All went well.  Now we're sitting in a room with our home stay and many of the kids from the village are chilling with us.  Walking in and out.  Dinner soon. Peace.

Maya and Bobby 

3/14/13
Felix Pilkington and Eleanor Pearson

Up bright and early today for our morning hike—which was definitely a highlight of the trip. We left the houses to meet as a group at 5:35am. Everyone was very tired, and it was still dark. Around 6, we left the village and headed uphill. The more ground we covered the higher the sun rose in the sky. At first everyone was excited, but after a while some of us began to feel dehydrated and we took a break. By the time we climbed to the top we could clearly see the village below and the sun was above us. The scenery was breathtaking, and we could see for miles. After some Frootis and biscuits we spread out across the mountain top and reflected on our journey and everything that had happened yesterday. On the way back down there was some slipping but eventually we made it to the village. Later, we met back up to walk down to the lake, where we continued our work from yesterday. We placed tiles on the steps and by 1:00 we headed back to our houses.

After repeating the Marathi phrase "Bus", meaning "enough", to our host families endless offers of Chai, Naan, and rice, we met back up for the local East-Maharastrian bull and horse races. It was on the beach, and everyone was relaxing after some hard work. Like all other places we have visited, we stood out. Although India is diverse in its languages, cultures, and religions, racially it is very similar. Being a group of obvious Westerners, we seemed to be attracting everyone's attention. We waited for a couple hours on the beach before the races started (they were later than expected), and had our own race in the process. One of the nicest parts of waiting was the opportunity to relax and get some water on our feet. Then the races started! Starting with beach bicycles and ending with colorful bulls pulling carriages, the races were a great source of entertainment.

We then returned to the auto-rickshaws with sandy feet and headed back to Chinchoti for a forty-minute-long journal session where we were able to catch up on our thoughts and experiences. We went our separate ways for dinner around 8pm, ready for a long night's rest. 

Greetings from Chinchoti,

It is our second day in Chinchoti and we have been having a great time with our host families. We have definitely been eating a lot of great food and drinking a lot of sweet chai. At the worksite, we continued working on the steps to the lake and we also started building a wall for the steps. This involved moving rocks and mixing A LOT of cement. We also organized the tiles needed to complete the steps. Since we started early, we saw many community members doing their morning chores near the lake. This includes cleaning clothes, washing cows and gathering water.

After we finished with the wall and the steps, we washed up and regrouped at the temple. There, we took rickshaws to Valvali which is a tribal village. We visited with the children of this village and spent time playing games with them. Everyone enjoyed each other. This was a chance to meet new people and to see a different culture than the one found in Chinchoti.

Tomorrow we will finish up the steps and go to see a bull race on the beach in the afternoon. We will keep you posted!

It is time for dinner now, so we do not have time to post a picture, but will do so tomorrow.

Ben and Michelle

P.S. Lucia just won a game of UNO

Greetings from Chinchoti,

It is our second day in Chinchoti and we have been having a great time with our host families. We have definitely been eating a lot of great food and drinking a lot of sweet chai. At the worksite, we continued working on the steps to the lake and we also started building a wall for the steps. This involved moving rocks and mixing A LOT of cement. We also organized the tiles needed to complete the steps. Since we started early, we saw many community members doing their morning chores near the lake. This includes cleaning clothes, washing cows and gathering water.

After we finished with the wall and the steps, we washed up and regrouped at the temple. There, we took rickshaws to Valvali which is a tribal village. We visited with the children of this village and spent time playing games with them. Everyone enjoyed each other. This was a chance to meet new people and to see a different culture than the one found in Chinchoti.

Tomorrow we will finish up the steps and go to see a bull race on the beach in the afternoon. We will keep you posted!

It is time for dinner now, so we do not have time to post a picture, but will do so tomorrow.

Ben and Michelle

P.S. Lucia just won a game of UNO

Today we left our hotel in Mumbai. We took a boat and traveled to the coastal port of Ali bag. We gave people on the boat temporary tattoos and made new friends. We then took a public bus that was very crowded. The roads were crowded too and the bus wove in between cars and motorcycles. We moved on from the bus to a rickshaw (a three wheeled automobile). The rickshaw took us to the village Chinchoti where we are staying for the next three days. The rickshaw dropped us off in front of a school; all the children were friendly and happy to see us. We exchanged many "hellos" and "namaskars." The village held a ceremony for us and we walked through the village with music and drums. We came to a house where we had a leadership meeting and ate lunch. After lunch we dropped our bags off at our host family's house and met them. We all met up again and went to the work site where we helped build steps and a wall for the lake where they wash clothes. We were very tired and then came back to our host families and took our first bucket showers and drank some chai tea.  Now we are sitting on a porch mingling with children in the community.  It is challenging to communicate with them because they speak very little English. We are putting a lot of effort into using Marathi, the language of Chinchoti. We are heading in for dinner now and tomorrow we wake up very early to continue our work on the washing steps on the edge of the lake. 

Photo of students outside the school taken by Shay.

-Shay & Morgan

India - Day 2!

Namaskar! Tumi kasa aahes? How are you?

Today, we got an early start and took a walk around the neighborhood near our hotel. We saw the famous Taj Hotel and the Gate of India, and got to journal a bit by the water. When we came back, we took a bus to a train that took us to Dharavi, the largest slum area in India. It covers about 420 acres with a population of over one million people. We first walked through the commercial district where we visited an aluminum factory, a plastic recycling factory, and the area where the potters work. Along the way, we walked through the narrow alleyways of the residential neighborhood. This is where Krishna’s organization, Reality Gives, is based. The mission of Reality Goves is to show both sides of Mumbai: the more affluent and tourist-y areas as well as the industrious and thriving production in the slums like Dharavi. We worked alongside students at the local community center learning English and computer skills. As we walked among the residents of Dharavi, we realized how different our connotation of the word “slum” is compared to the reality of what goes on in this community. Krishna let us know that the people of Dharavi suffer most from the lack of clean drinking water and access to decent health care. It’s such a complex ecosystem, that we think it will take a while to fully internalize and comprehend. 

When we returned to central Mumbai, we went to the movies and saw a Bollywood film with more montages than we’d ever seen in one movie! The theater was bigger than most in the US, and had reclining seats!

The photos are by Maya. 

Tomorrow we leave early for Chinchoti, the village where we will spend the majority of our time, to meet our host families and see our worksite.

Until tomorrow!

Emily and Lucy 

First day in India!

Namaste, everyone!

Today we had a very eventful day. We visited the main beach of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea.  We walked along the beach and went through food stalls with Mumbai specialties. We went to a temple celebrating the god Shiva, who has a festival in his honor today, and this led us to one source of the Ganga (Ganges River). Locals were bathing in the sacred water. There were many small ceremonies going on the steps beside the water in tribute to loved ones who have passed away. Suzanne, Krishna (our in-country coordinator), Tom and Rae (the World Leadership faculty), and several students bathed as well. In a humid and hot 85 degrees, we then walked to a Jain temple. People who practice Jainism believe in no harm to any living thing. We saw people with their mouths covered with a cloth to prevent them from breathing in bugs. They also do not eat meat or any vegetables that come from below ground.

After lunch, (which was delish and spicy!), we went to visit Gandhi’s house, which has been converted to a museum. His library was extensive, filled with the books he had read in his lifetime. Tolstoy, Thoreau, Madame Curie, and some socialist readings were among them. We also saw a framed copy of letters to FDR and Hitler. While we were there, we happened to bump into Steven Spielberg (no joke—and a special shout out to Maya’s brother). We didn’t exactly talk with him or get his business card, but could he be researching for his next blockbuster? Who knows?

Soon after, we went to another market and bought saris, bindis and ankle bracelets. The market brought us to a barn full of sacred cows. We bought grass to feed them and it was quite amusing. We have great footage and pictures of the day but we’re still trying to figure out the technology on this end. We have included one of Ana’s photos, which is of the Ganga. Ok, headed off to bed. Stay tuned for our next post.

-Emma and Ana

Students are in India!

Hi friends and families of the Berkeley Carroll School! The students have safely arrived in Mumbai. Here is the quick message we received from Rebeckah, the WLS instructor. The group will start updating the blog tomorrow.

"I'm writing to let you know that the group arrived in good spririts. We fed them sandwiches, juice and bananas on the busride to the hotel...they dropped their luggage off in their rooms and we did some little get to know you activities, fears in a hat and ANCHOR... and now it's one in the morning! We will do the city tour tomorrow and Why We are Here combined with goals."

Please call with any questions 303.679.3412.

Erin Lasky
Director of Operation