making haste.

Last week Thursday, we did not have classes in honor of sports day- a big event in which all the students race in track events Walking onto the field, I was one hundred percent sure I would look up to see a full on game of quidditch taking place (sadly it never happened) the houses were split into sections, each proudly wearing their color and saluting their house flag with more enthusiasm than is comprehendible. The day was filled with sun and fun- feeling awfully similar to an afternoon at the beach. It was a big day in the life of Emily Shriver because I earned my first track medal. Ever. Sadly, Lauren Terry did leave me in the dust but I’m blaming it on the fact that she was a track star in COLLEGE while I spent my days being unphysical and reading books in the library…

Eagles in blue

These guys were really concerned about the outcomes of the races...

Sang Hyun and Daryl and a suspiciously high number of medals

Sorab and Lae

experts.

Samiha, Shiny, Akansha and Stuti

ooooh yea.
The team with the most spirit won a ridiculously large chocolate cake. like Hagrid style large...it was delicious

Because we are graced with the presence of Paul and all his yoga teaching glory, we decided to have a sunset yoga session and campout on flag hill. It was a great session and wonderful to really embody mountain pose. We woke up at 530 to watch the sunrise and the peaks turn purple- as of now, the snow-capped peaks are mostly visible in the early morning and at dusk. Pictures do not do this view justice…in fact, they don’t even come close.



Sunday morning at 7am I leave to take a group of 18 tenth graders on a trek to Kedar Kantha for a full 7 days. In preparation for the upcoming activity week, those going on treks met Saturday morning at Hanifl, the outdoor education center, to check their gear, cover the basics and pick up tents. Here is Darab teaching the proper way to pack a backpack

miscommunication.

It all began with our ride to Haridwar. Our plan was to go from Woodstock to Haridwar, then take the overnight train to Jaipur, where we would spend a very full, very touristy filled weekend and then return on yet another overnight train, arriving back to school with one hour left to spare before the start of parent teacher conferences. We should have known this was a bad idea right from the start, but that would be admitting defeat. We were able to score a free ride from Arjun- a parent of one of Lauren’s students who offered the use of his car and driver and even packed us snacks for our journey. We painlessly arrived in the city and were dropped at the train station with plenty of time to make our train...
Prime example of why it is of utmost importance that I learn more Hindi. After pushing our way through crowds of Indians and talking with someone at the ticket booth, we learned we were to go to platform 9 for our train. We sat and sat, made friends with locals who were camping out there for the night, oblivious to the fact that well, there was only one train in the entire station and it was at platform 6. 8:00, the scheduled time of departure, came and went, and the train at platform 6 left but ours still wasn’t there- what was the deal? As the train pulled away a man came up and spoke adamantly in Hindi, which we don’t speak, then finally he gave up and left. We joked that he probably told us we needed to run if we wanted to not miss our train; turns out yup, he was.

Haridwar was very interesting because it is one of Hinduism’s holiest cities. The Mother Ganges flows through and pilgrims arrive in droves to bathe in the holy water. We spent much of our time meandering through the streets, watching the eclectic mix of the locals and the pilgrims. Haridwar is much less touristy than Rishikesh and we were the only white people in miles.

Superb bus system- Haridwar to Dehradun (1.5 hours) is approximately 80 cents

Rishikesh, made famous by The Beatles, and also known as the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’, was a total trip. The entire city has a serene aura of connectivity and calmness that I have never experienced before. It’s a large backpacking hang out; prices are ridiculously cheap and there is a ton going on. Ashrams, yoga and mediation classes are found around every corner, Sadhus (spiritual men) are scattered throughout the city and beaches, and the food and social scenes were great- it was really good to see and interact with other 20-30 year olds who are out exploring the world. We took the bus from Rishikesh to Dehradun feeling 100 percent revived.

Rishikesh

Embodiment of our Rishikesh stay

In Dehradun, we stopped at our usual places of interest, but also had the chance to stop at KKM- a leoprasy mission and home in the heart of Dehradun. It was absolutely fascinating. It is a place for those labeled by society as ‘lepers’ and not able to find work anywhere else due to the attached stigma, to find a sense of belonging. It provides its workers with homes, food, and jobs in the form of spinning, weaving, or tailoring, all on the premise of the mission. These women and men were really excited to interact with us, despite the language barriers. They carry with them a deep sense of understanding of the way the world works, and are surprisingly optimistic and carefree.