After preparing for a couple days before all the students arrived, the South Asian students presented on their cultures for the international students. You can read more here, and see a few student interviews here, beginning with Olga!
Monica
Mohammad
Rohini
Kultwisiso
Shilpi
Today all three groups separated & departed to their, (feels like far away) homes. It kind of left a toll on us because we were just creating new & connecting more bonds. I know that it will be okay in the long run because the leaders have made very trusty decisions for us and I know that this will make us even stronger. After the groups left my group stayed behind and got right to work. My leader Eli, let us discuss our thoughts and feelings as well as why do we think they made us split up and the topics of what we will be doing for the next few days. All of the responses were very diverse but made sense. We all knew we were going to survive this “nightmare.” After our meaningful discussion we had an intense journal session. I think it was very important to get that time in because I do not have time to do it at home because of work. The trip is teaching me a whole lot and I’m so glad to be here. When I do go home I will definitely continue journaling and make time! I wrote 4 whole pages in just 35 minutes,( i thought that was a whole lot) lol. It really helps to get things off your mind and make you feel better. After the journal session we went to a few stores to shop. Excitingly, we all were to do a little shopping , we were even more happy to see the other groups there shopping too! As we continue, I hope to gain a better bond with my group and enjoy India even more.
Who would of thought that in just one and a half weeks time it would be hard to say goodbye to half of our group for only 6 days. We had all been staying in the same hotel throughout our duration in India and then almost out of the blue we were told that we would be staying in different hotels from each other in groups of 12-13. At first, it was hard to process why we would all be split apart as we had just started getting closer to one another, but after some reflection it made sense. With India being a very crowded place, especially in the city of Ahmedabad, it tends to be hard to get around in a big group of 40 kids. So by splitting into smaller groups we are able to move around more and do a greater amount of activities. Although there is a logical explanation for the split, it still sucks that we must temporarily say goodbye to one another. There will temporarily be no group laughs, no group hang outs, and even no Sajed to make us all laugh, but when we do meet again we will have so much more to share with one another. See you in 6 days 360Plus family.
On July 10th, our leadership collective went to the Gandhi Ashram. It was like walking through Gandhi’s life step by step. It was a truly amazing experience that I will cherish. My life is my message. My life is a blur. The way I live my life is how I try to show my message. The past 16 years of my life have flown by in a blur, so the rest of my life is behind Gandhi. Now I live from Gandhi. From the second I went to his ashram. I felt attached to it. In the moment I felt calm. I felt purity. I felt that there is beauty in simplicity. I realized that this is how Gandhi lived his life. I felt every emotion that he lived by, and strived to make people. I was able to get how and what he wanted after life. “Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this, ever in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth.”
A picture right outside of Gandhi’s home. We were able to walk through the exact home that Gandhi grew up in. From his bedroom to his living room we were able to walk from door to door. So, from just reading to the visual stuff. The Gandhi ashram was one of my favorite visits we made!