Well, 12 days until takeoff. Framed backpack: packed. Books and dress clothes: packed. Guitar and stand: ready to roll. I have never been to Asia, and I certainly haven't been away from California for anywhere near 5 months.
I've also never been as excited to see something new in my entire life, so much so that time actually seems to be flying by! Within the next couple weeks, I will be moved out of my house in Pleasant Hill, all finished with classes for my undergraduate art degree at Berkeley, and on my way to the Acharya Shree Nanesh Samta schools in northern India.
Website for the school I will be teaching at. Click the image to visit their site.
In a fortunate series of events, I was invited to fly to India, travel to a set of schools and other facilities in a rural part of Rajasthan, and live there and teach until December of this year; and all of this FOR FREE. One of my very best friends in Berkeley, my fraternity and pledge brother, Kash, presented me with this opportunity I had no option but to accept.
After developing his company and passing the majority of the business to his sons, Kash's grandfather returned to northern India where he had grown up learning a specific sect of Jaine Hinduism from his spiritual leader, a man named Acharya Shree Nanesh. In Danta, the village where Nanesh was born, Kash's grandfather returned to find no healthcare, no clean water, and no education system.
I'll be at the liiiittle yellow star between Rajasthan and Haryana. Click the image to go to Google Maps.
Since then, he and his wife have spent countless dollars and visits to the once tiny village, adding schools, hospitals, and basic amenities along the way. Their mission is to spread peace, prosperity & happiness through “Education, Social Service & Spiritual Elevation” for the benefits of rural masses & young generation. The now 200,000 square meter facility with a primary school, industrial training institute (for college students), English medium secondary school and Hindi medium secondary school serves over 1,200 students who live there for the school session for, virtually, free.
I have my Anthropology of religion class until August 14th, then I fly out of San Francisco August 18th. I'll get to India 2 calendar days later, and a week after that I will be 725 miles north of Mumbai, settling in to my new home in the desert. My return ticket is dated January 15th. To be honest, I don't have much of an idea as to what will happen between those two plane rides, but I'm positive that I'll return a different person. And I promise to keep you updated with blogs and pictures. Wish me luck!
BJ