Hi all! I am leaving for India tomorrow and anticipating the 6 week long journey with a lot of excitement and a little bit of nervousness. I thought I would blog some of my experiences, thoughts, or moments I would like to share with friends and family as a way of updating others about my trip but also forcing myself to write about it. To give you all a brief itinerary of my first week, my family and I will be flying in to Delhi. The next few days we are going to a conference in Banjaar (close to Shimla) to listen to grassroots activists discuss development projects in Himachal Pradesh and their adverse effects on the livelihoods of many. For those of you who didn’t take a class in Indian geography, Himachal Pradesh is actually quite close to the Chinese border. (See map below)

Then, we are touring the beautiful state, and I will be sure to post pictures. The Dalai Lama is going to be teaching in Dharamsala the same days we are visiting the city and I am sooo excited to see him! I nearly had a heart attack when I found out he will be some feet away from me. He is my idol.

Anyways, then, after being Delhites for a few days, the trip really begins. We may go to Uttar Pradesh, maybe to Bihar, maybe to Gujarat… the rest is up in the air! I don’t know how we are actually going… by plane or train or car (or motorcycle?), but we have a few contacts in the area and hope that the background research, activist friends, and circumstance all come together to create an awesome trip. UP and Bihar are areas as foreign to me as to many of you all… I have never been to these areas nor speak the language. At least Che and Alberto knew the continent they traveled intimately. But I guess that is the fun of it!

I aim to write a little something every other day, and hope you all find at least a few thoughts interesting. I wish you all great summers!