It’s been a long journey flying from Siliguri to Kolkata to Abu Dhabi to New York but we made it! It was sad saying goodbye to our sangha but also bittersweet as we are also excited to see our family and friends. We have all collected our checked......Read More
Dear Families, Quick note to let you know that students have arrived JFK safely and are now headed to the domestic terminal. Team Eastern Himalayas...Read More
Family and friends, the Eastern Himalaya team are on their way to Abu Dhabi. There they will meet the Nepal and Bhutan student groups and will travel together to the USA. Thank for your patience and support! They will be home shortly....Read More
I learned a lot about food in Sittong. I was able to experience helping kill a chicken. It was the first time I witnessed the process right in front of me and it was both shocking and interesting. It was presented as a peaceful and caring exercise,......Read More
Dear Families & Friends, It is hard to believe that almost four weeks have passed since your student embarked on this incredible adventure! It won’t be long until students will be boarding their planes back home. We are sure you are anxiously......Read More
On this course I learned….. About resourcefulness, community, and exploration. In Sittong we spent an entire morning preparing lunch. We pounded rice, cut all the vegetables, grinded the spices, and killed a chicken. While many of my friends......Read More
On this course I witnessed….. How interconnected human beings can be. In both of the homestays, everyone in their community relied on one another. It was eye opening to see that everyone knew each other and that they enjoyed one another. More......Read More
We reached Mirik this morning and began our Transference. This is a time when we come together as a group and as individuals to reflect on our time spent in India and think about how to transition these experiences to our lives at home....Read More
Hello! We recently spent a week in Sittong, West Bengal in homestays. The biggest thing I learned was how much happiness and fulfilment one can obtain form living a simple life. Happiness is not always measured in material wealth, as many Western......Read More
So, in our recent homestay, the rural one in Sittong, I learned so many things in only seven days. For me, the most important one was: food is a “sacred” thing. It’s difficult to explain, but I learned that killing an animal for our own need......Read More
My rural homestay taught me the most about family and happiness. People always say that money cant buy people happiness but I was never fully convinced of the validity of that statement. In Sittong, my home consisted of 2 rooms, 1 outdoor kitchen,......Read More
Oddly enough, I witnessed and participated in the killing and cutting apart of a chicken for the first time just days after becoming a vegetarian. For others in the group it is this interaction with the loss of life required to eat meat which made......Read More
I was surprised by how delicious fried bread, rice, and potatoes can be in various forms. I spent a week learning to cook and each dish took a much shorter time than I expected because there were so many flavors involved. In an hour, we could cook......Read More
This morning we arrived in Darjeeling. Despite a bit of rainy weather the trek was a blast. We arrived in our hotel unpacked, showered, and after a delicious lunch in the hotel we headed into town to explore. We visited the Himalayan Mountaineering......Read More
“Hold its head tight,” Gustavo looked confused but dedicated. We had the rooster’s head gripped in both hands pulling firmly. The rooster began to let out worried squeaks, and by the shakes and movements in Aiden’s arms I could see it knew......Read More
In our rural homestay I learned a lot in terms of overall knowledge. I had a different family dynamic than the one in Kalimpong. In Kalimpong I was the youngest and lived with an older sister and a host mother. In Sittong, I had a younger sister, an......Read More
