INDIA TRIP 2015
Mid June-Mid July (approximately)
This trip is a service adventure, which means we are going to experience, work, contribute, and explore India’s magnificence.
Our goal is to expose you to northern Indian and Tibetan culture. The area where we will be traveling, living, and working is in the same region as the residence of the Dalai Lama, making it a vibrant center for Tibetan culture. This trip will be as much about Tibet as it is about India.
In brief, we will:
1. Travel throughout northern India to experience its most brilliant sights.
2. Make our stay in a house in a town in the foothills of the Himalaya.
3. Engage in development projects to assist two local schools: an Indian high school and a Tibetan monastery.
India
India needs little introduction. This country is huge in population and abundant in diversity and culture. It is an impact on the senses from a whirlwind of sights, smells, and sounds. Travelers spend years exploring the country and only scratch its surface.
Because of its vastness, for this trip we will focus most of our attention on one particular region: Himachal Pradesh (HP). Himachal Pradesh is engulfed by the Himalayan Mountains and is near to Tibet and Nepal. Snowy in the winter and warm in the summer, this region is a hotspot of the Tibetan diaspora. You will see temples, prayer flags, monks, nuns and other aspects of Tibetan culture in addition to the more traditional Indian array of sights and sounds: Hindu temples, wandering holy cows, boys playing cricket in the streets, and delicious delicious delicious food every direction you turn.
India is a safe and welcoming country. Its people are some of the most kind, hospitable and sociable people we have come across.
Primary Projects (everyone is involved in this one)
Funds will be raised, and supplies collected in order to do one or all of the following:
• Volunteer at an Indian high school in a mountain village near Manali, HP. Projects include: painting murals, setting up the computer lab and teaching computer skills.
• Renovate a classroom and build a small computer lab in a Tibetan monastery school in Manali, HP. Teach and learn from these students.
Secondary Project (individual student project)
Students have the option of undertaking an independent project in addition to their group work. This project may take any form, including but not limited to documentary, photo essay, art project or community outreach. Interested students are encouraged to submit a brief proposal describing his or her project idea or area of interest so that we can help outline a suitable project and provide any necessary materials. Projects like these are both personally rewarding, and also can help provide that extra boost on college applications.
INDIA TRIP SAMPLE ITINERARY (subject to change)
Day 1-8
• Arrive in Delhi. Relax, sightseeing, shopping, eating
• Visit the Taj Mahal
• Dharamshala, if possible to meet with the Dalai Lama
• Visit temples and other Tibetan monuments, monasteries, etc.
• Visit Rewalsar: a holy place with many meditation coves
Day 9-25
Manali:
• Work at schools, experience mountain life
• Live within an Indian community with a Nepalese cook preparing traditional vegetarian Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan food
• Outdoor activities including hiking, camping, rafting, zorbing, paragliding, etc.
(You’ll need parental permission for some of these!)
Days 25-29
• Leave Manali, sightseeing along the way
• Rajasthan and a two-day camel safari
• Fly home from Delhi
YOUR GUIDES
Kirstin Green is a Coronado native and graduated from CHS in 1995. She studied at SFSU before joining the Peace Corps in 2002 to work for two years in Ghana. She has been working with students at CHS for 10 years, and together they have created several large scale mosaics in Coronado and one in Tema, Ghana. She spent this past fall semester facilitating a mosaic mural at a high school in Mumbai, India.
Ryan Allmandinger graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, majoring in International Business. He has worked abroad in India & Thailand and travelled throughout West Africa, the Philippines, Russia, and others. Ryan has co-hosted the last three CHS-Ghana trips. He lives and works in Coronado.
Andrea Fiore is an attorney in San Diego and new addition to the Community Wings family. Andrea has traveled throughout India, including Manali and Mumbai where she assisted with the Mumbai Mural Project.
We work closely with our Tibetan/Indian counterpart Peter Dorjee to create an experience full of adventure, service, and fun.
LOGISTICS
Once you’ve chosen to join us on this adventure, we will provide you with detailed packing lists, additional health and safety, insurance, passport & visa procedures, and other necessary information.
With Kirstin’s experience in development work in the Peace Corps-Ghana and living/working in India, Ryan’s work in the private/social sector in India, and a solid Indian support structure, we have tailored a volunteer experience unlike any other program available to high school students. We are very comfortable navigating and operating within Indian culture safely and efficiently. Like our student trips in the past, this will be a journey you will never forget.
CONTACT US
Kirstin: kgmosaics@gmail.com
Ryan: everthine@gmail.com
Andrea: andrea.fiore@gmail.com
While this journey is not affiliated with the Coronado High School, some of the student volunteers are hand-picked from CHS. Nevertheless, applications are open to students of any high school or college age.