uncertainties

journey2: goin, goin, back, back, to cali, cali

I can only say that because I was in LA in July 2009. That trip was certainly enjoyable and taught me a lot about California love (cue Tupac beat). That was lovely, but I definitely didn’t have the inspiration that India gave me to view travel from the perspective I do now (which is more from a cultural, how-is-it-to-actually-live-here angle).

That said, I came to Berkeley primarily to work with this awesome, charismatic guy I was connected to via Twitter (interesting how social media creates opportunities like this). I didn’t want to lose an opp to learn about something I’m totally unfamiliar with, and when I have time off from school, that opportunity is more in-my-face than any other time.

My formal purpose here is to develop an online marketing campaign for Monsoon, but while I’m here, I’m trying my best to embrace the culture of the Bay, indulge in some service and inspiring community, and smile as much as I can.

journey1: the next two months

It’s 8pm, and my plane is in less than four hours, and I’ve put off putting this blog together for long enough. Thus, I’ll summarize what I’m doing this summer before my parents bug and I have to leave for the airport.

I’m going to Mumbai tonight. I’ll stay there for a day with some fam and make sure I have all my malaria pills and jazz. I’m leaving for Varanasi the next morning, and I’ll be staying there til July 1. In Varanasi, I’ll be working as a Givology fellow for Asha for Education. Asha runs a ton of projects throughout all of India, and I’ll be working their project in Mirjamurad, Uttar Pradesh, about 20-30km out of Varanasi. I’m going to be really close to the Ganges River, in Eastern India. The project I’m working with is called Aasra Sewa Santhan.

There, I’ll be teaching kids math and English while helping the village community around them. The school is central to the community there, so in working with the school, I’ll be working with the entire community. It should be super exciting. While I’m there, I’m hoping to explore Varanasi thoroughly. It’s supposed to be one of the most religious/holy cities in India, so this should be really interesting.

When I leave Varanasi, I’ll be going to Mumbai and spending the last two weeks of my trip with family. Plans for those two weeks are kinda up in the air, but I’m hoping I can visit Rajasthan and experience the culture there as much as I can for those two weeks. I might also cut my time in Varanasi short a week so I can visit Nepal for a week and explore the culture there. I’ll be working out the exact plans as the trip progresses, so…stay tuned with the blog to find out what I’m doing.