Getting a Perspective on the Environment: Mahabaleshwar Trekking Assignment

 Last weekend our Environmental Perspectives class packed up and made our way to the Hill Station of Mahabaleshwar! You can read all about it in my Alliance Blog riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight HERE! On our last day we were led on a trek through the mountains by our professor and his friend Peter and given the assignment to stop, take a look around, explore nature, take a look at plants, talk to animals, and get a feel for the environment (you can tell we were also led in meditation on our trip, right?) Below are some of my favorite pics from that weekend, as well as the pics I took for my trekking assignment....ENJOY!

(A view from the Shiva temple at the origin of the Krishna River. On Day 1 of our trip we learned that the temple is thousands of years old, got to explore it, take some sweet pics, and meditate! You can see the river flowing through the beautiful mountains. It was certainly a gorgeous, relaxing place to be)

(Our first stop on the trip was to see the Western Ghats, a mountain range which runs throughout the west coast of India. Here we observed the step-like ridges of the mountain-sides as well as many, many monkeys-most of which simply wanted to steal our street corn, but this adorable baby-mother duo were just monkeying around.)

(Notice the step-like ridges on the mountain are what gives the Ghats their name.)

And thus the trekking begins!

(Spotted: A photo from the first minutes of our hike, looking to our end point...see that tower way into the distance that I've circled for you? Consider that challenge ACCEPTED!)

(Who would've thought that in the middle of a forest in the mountains people would feel the need to plant a scheduled forest in lines and rows? That silly endeavor quite obviously failed, although we were told that some of the forestry people in India still fight to keep these non-native planted trees alive)

(Even plants get pimples!! We learned that these plants develop pimple-like features on their leaves to enclose around any bugs trying to live on them in a symbiotic relationship!)

(I luckily could not find the spider that calls this web home)

(Trekking, trekking, and more trekking. Our group was just trekking on!)

(FERN GULLY! I was definitely not expecting ferns to be a plant that grew freely in India)

(ACTION SHOTS! Caught in the act of trekking!!)

(After learning one of BAIF's pest repellent methods the weekend before, I thought it was interesting to see that even in nature you can find some of these techniques in place. Here you can see that among all of the green plants there is  a cluster with deep reddish-purple leaves. At BAIF these leaves were used to attract all of the pests to it instead of letting it affect all of the green plants. This red one is taking one for the team!)

(Little Toad!!)

(Slowly getting to our destination! The tower is getting closer and there is less vegetation as we get to the top of the mountain!)

(Little yellow flowers were quite fond of growing near the mountain top...probably because of all the sunlight they could get with minimal competition for space!)

(A view from the top: How'd those power lines get up here?! Pausing for a minute to take in the views. After a few hours we had all finally arrived at the top, where we reflected on what we had seen, discussed our observations, and of course meditated with the winds.)

Dream.love.Discover,

Dachelle

Cave Dwellers...

     This past weekend many of us decided to take a trip to the city of Aurangabad to do some sightseeing. The area is known for the Ajanta and Ellora caves-two World Heritage sites. The Ajanta and Ellora caves are perhaps two of the coolest places I have ever been. Both the caves are known for being Buddhist Art Temple caves that are thousands of years old-Ajanta for its once beautiful, and now being restored, cave paintings and Ellora for its amazing carvings-all done by Buddhist monks who once inhabited the area. We learned that the Ajanta Caves were actually discovered by a tiger!! The story goes that people had been watching the tiger when it suddenly disappeared into the mountains, after following where the tiger had gone, the beautiful, hidden Ajanta Caves were discovered. Along the way we also made some side stops to Daulatabad Fort and Aurangzeb's Tomb (for whom the city of Aurangabad was named for.) The cave fun didn't stop there, however, as Tuesday my Environmental Perspectives class took a trip about an hour and a half trip outside of the city to the Bhaja Caves!!! Enjoy the sweet pics!

Daulatabad Fort

(Please note the monkeys are REAL!) 

Ajanta Caves

Ellora Caves

 

Aurangzeb's Tomb

 (These boys, as well as the family above really wanted us to take their pictures!)
Bhaja Caves

(Caught in the Act-Our Professor taking a moment to meditate while we explore the caves)

(View as we trekked to the caves)

Dream.Love.Discover,

Dachelle xoxo

"Politics is not above humanity..."

     On Thursday, we had the amazing experience of visiting students at the MIT (Maharashtra Institute of Technology) School of Government as part of a field trip for Alliance’s Contemporary India class. MIT-SOG is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia to offer a Masters Program in Government- training the leaders of tomorrow.

     During our presentation, we got to listen to each of these future leaders describe where they were from-the vibrancy and spirit of their home and their never ending hospitality (encouraging us to take a visit to Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, and India's many other states) as well as have the discussion open up to a Q&A session, in which many of the SOG students were interested to hear more about us. As we took the opportunity to ask the students questions (regarding topics ranging from the education system, to Anna Hazare, to what they plan to do with their leadership education), it was amazing to hear and witness their passion for a better India with a more efficient government that would make a difference and increase the standard of living for all across the country.

Corruption, 

Education, and 

The necessity to incorporate Rural India into the political process... 

were some of the top issues many of the students pointed out. One student (who gets credit as being quoted for this post's title) had immeasurable passion on these topics, also touching on the necessity of better maternal health care which would strengthen the youth of tomorrow, giving a powerful speech that really made me think about what I have seen so far in India. As he went on to explain that India faces so many problems, I began to see that all hope is not lost as the young leaders we saw on that day hold so much hope for India's future and all of the improvements that can be made to make India a power in the globalizing world.

     Although still a young country, in my opinion, India has about it a spirit that cannot be contained either in the streets or, as we saw, in the classroom. Even as we pass students in Western-style clothing, there is still so much to suggest that they have not forgotten about their country’s rich tradition and history. In the season of festivals, this clash of Eastern tradition and Westernization has become apparent to not only myself, but several of my fellow classmates as well. Here in Pune, the streets are lined with stages in celebration of Ganapati, as well as many seeking to raise awareness about the issues of corruption, social justice, poverty and various others. As you will see in my post on Ganapati later this week, there is still a strong community tie as well as a deeply rooted faith-based tradition, all of which helps to keep India closely knitted and thriving forward.

     Looking back on my first few weeks here, it has never ceased to amaze me how India is bringing together  culture and development, moving forward into this newly emerging age. While still facing so many problems, India is not giving up (as we have seen most recently in the Anna Hazare movement, an exciting time in India’s political history, which we also got to discuss with the SOG students) and is willing to rise against corruption, lack of effective education, and the many issues that face its society to build a better, stronger nation. That is not to say the vast array of problems India faces can be solved over night, especially when looking at what is still ingrained in the Indian psyche from its days of colonization and the struggles it still faces because of this happening from just 40 or so years earlier. The fact of the matter is India may just need some more time. With an estimated 1.21 billion inhabitants, corruption, poverty, education, and healthcare are not easily solved problems, even with an increase in GDP, unless the government learns to allocate funds more effectively, a difficult task for a country still getting its footing. No great nation rose up in a day, after all. I see many of the same issues when looking at my own country (and in its history), which even hundreds of years after its establishment still faces many struggles.

     The hopes of the future leaders of India that we met at MIT-SOG hold a lot of promise, seeking to take action and bring about change. Some intend to take the long road to become directly involved in politics (working on legislation, with various parties, etc) while others plan to return to their agricultural-rural roots, in order to make their world a better place. The students, who were inaugurated as MIT's 7th batch of the program yesterday, have inspired many of us to see the light in India's future and we thank them again for the time they gave to us and the friendly arms they extended in welcoming us to their beautiful, vibrant, and inspirational country.

Dream.Love.Discover,

Dachelle

After a brief Internet Hiatus....

I have finally arrived in India via Mumbai and Durshet to Pune, settled in to my new life, SET UP INTERNET (which is definitely an accomplishment in a city with extremely minimal wifi), started classes, AND published a new post. Wondering what I've been up to and how my first few weeks in India have been? Check out my blog for the Alliance for Global Education HERE  and get updated!! More posts on my adventures, trials, and tribulations to be posted here soon!!

Dream.Love.Discover,
Dachelle

Russian to Get Outta Here?

NOT.A.CHANCE! 

As the weeks have finally dwindled down, leaving only 3 days left at home, I've started to wonder if I'm really ready to leave home yet. The reality of leaving so many loose ends at home-mainly wondering where all of my belongings, which have begun to be neatly packed away in boxes (I use the term neatly very loosely here), will even be-has really begun to set in. The fact that I will soon be off in a foreign country with only 2 bags to my name, leaving behind my family and friends, all of the comforts from home, and my kitchen (which I love dearly) has also begun to create knots in my stomach. 

But enough with the worrying! I have so much to be excited about! I have finally managed to finish reading my guide to India (Wanderlust and Lipstick: A Guide for Women Travelling to India which has provided many useful tips and tricks for the female traveller) and gather everything I need including: receiving my camcorder (which will be put to the ultimate test in Documentary Film), outlet transformers, more Bath and Body works products than I would ever want to admit I cannot travel without, mementos from home (Nutella included!), and a new travel bag! 

I also received some great news just the other day.....drum-roll pleaaase (badaaadadadadadadaaaaaaaa)  I HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN ACCEPTED TO STUDY IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA for the Spring 2012 semester! Yippie! This great news also brings with it a lot of challenges as I will have to work with AIFS to coordinate every aspect of my second semester abroad all the way from India, battling their frequent power-outages and not knowing what my internet situation will be like. 

There is still so much to do as the sand in my "Days in the US" timer quickly comes down to the last grains. My mother, who is extremely supportive (as is everyone I know) of my adventures abroad, has decided that we will have one last hurrah at our house and will be throwing me a going away party-DJ included-tomorrow, leaving the To-Do list looking a little something like this for today:

To Do:

Bake Brownies

Wrap Scallops in Bacon

Go to Dad's to help make macaroni salad

Set up a Skype account for my Nana

FINISH DOING LAUNDRY ALREADY!

Pick up final check from Job 1

Stop by Kenny's Salt Water Taffy (my favorite job of Summer 2011) to:

1. Wish Katherine a happy birthday

2. Say final good-byes to the gang

3. Pick up taffy to bring on my abroad travels as gifts!

4. Eat some Coconut Creme fudge (Y-U-M!)

Make "travel sleeping bag" (details below)

[[***Travel Tip: The Travelling Sleeping Bag: A fellow SMC-er that I became friends with last summer through SMC Wilderness Program Leader Training (yes, I trained to be a WP leader last summer, which lead me to a 4-day backpacking trip through the Long Trail none of my friends were expecting me to complete successfully...SURPRISE!) is also studying abroad in India for the Fall Semester in Hyderabad, which is across the country from where I will be and gave me a ton of useful tips regarding what to pack. One of the most brilliant that stood out on the list was to take a queen-sized sheet, fold it in half, and sew up the open end, making a super portable, lightweight, sleeping bag that will be very handy throughout my travels. As India is so large, there will be a lot of travelling done via overnight trains and nights in hotel rooms (which my guide-book informed me does not always have clean sheets..yikes!), making this a great (and cheap!) alternative to trying to stuff a heavy sleeping bag in my check-in. Thanks Melissa!]] 

Pictures of Tomorrow's Festivities to Follow!

Dream.Love.Discover.

-Dachelle <3