Hey everybody!

We are writing to you as we near our final days in Varanasi after a delightful week. We have all been quite busy here in Varanasi a.k.a. Benares a.k.a. the City of Lights a.k.a. the City of Temples a.k.a. the City of Learning a.k.a. the culture capital of India. Indeed, we have been lucky enough to catch glimpses of the reasoning behind all these highly appropriate nicknames. The main focus of our stay here has been the wide range of internship opportunities available to us. Whether it was instrument, dance, art, or cooking classes, it is apparent everyone was just having a good ole time. In fact, a few of us were so inspired we found ourselves the new owners of some classical handmade Indian instruments such as tabla and sitar. Consider yourself warned of potential sleepless nights and distracted days as we dive deeper into the vast sea of music. Meanwhile, we have all also been learning Hindi for 2 hours every morning with our stellar instructor Pinku. Although it was a slow and somewhat frustrating beginning of a new and unique language, we all now able to form the simplest of past, present, and future sentences.
Aside from these opportunities, we were lucky enough to find ourselves as the newest residents of a Varanasi Hindustan University house with other students and travelers from all over the world. Included in this house was Shantiji, a woman who many have agreed produced the finest meals that our taste buds have encountered. Lunch buffets of rice, dal, vegetables, fruit, chapatis, and more have become highlights of our days.
Beyond just our classrooms and kitchen, we also have been able to witness the rich culture of Varanasi in other ways. In quite a bold maneuver, we rose early with the sun to enjoy a sunrise boat ride on the Mother Ganga, viewing the renowned and famous ghats that line the river banks and attract people from all around the world. Soon, we hope to finalize our plans for free travel and will keep you all updated!

Shanti Bahar (Peace Out)
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-Ariel and Topher

From the Golden Temple to India's holiest city.

We continued our internships regularly in Mcleod until the evening of the 21st, when we had a speaker talk to us about the issue of Tibet's occupation by the communist Chinese government. We learned a great deal and even purchased some of his writings at the end of the presentation. Afterwards we had a brief ceremony in which we presented our thanks to our host mothers along with a traditional white scarf for good luck. We headed out on the morning of the 22nd, after saying good-bye to our host families. We were bound for Amritsar, first by bus, and then by train. The bus ride was 4 hours long and quite uncomfortable, as Topher with his lack of legroom and sick seat-mates would attest. The train seemed shorter and more comfortable and before we knew it, we had arrived in Amritsar. After some difficulties getting a bus ride to the Golden Temple, a guide and his friend got us to the Golden Temple via Auto Rickshaw for a cheaper price. They were very helpful and ended up being our guides for the rest of our time in Amritsar. We stayed in one of the buildings in the temple complex and ate our meals free at the massive volunteer worked kitchen, which serves thousands of pilgrims and guests daily. The Temple itself was amazing at all times of the day, as it was completely gilded from the ground up. It was surrounded by a large pool and there were buildings filled with Sikh gurus waiting to offer wisdom to pilgrims. All in all, it was a very impressive complex that was almost entirely run by volunteers who did all the cleaning, cooking, and donating. The day after we spent the whole day looking around at the sites and ended it with the grand flag ceremony at the Indo-Pakistani border. The next day we had to leave on a 24 hour train ride to Varanasi, which went smoothly. Now we are here in Varanasi searching out what internships we want to do for the remainder of our stay. We're looking forward to the variety of choices such as, music lessons, traditional dances, and painting. Hope everyone back home is doing fine, as well as the other groups who may read this. Bye

-Eva and Nalin