After a good night's sleep at the Airbnb in the yoga center, we took a tour of the adjoining school, a boarding school for underprivileged kids. It occurred to us that we might want to return here at some time and volunteer at this school; it seemed like a good fit for us. And we … Continue reading India Travel Day – from Bodh Gaya to Kolkata
As we mentioned previously, we left our quarters in Bodh Gaya, where we'd spent the past month volunteering at a nearby school, and headed toward a new adventure, one such as we'd never experienced before. And what was this intriguing undertaking? We were about to attend a ten-day meditation retreat. Vipassana Retreat Bodh Gaya, being … Continue reading Going Off Grid for Two Weeks in Bodh Gaya
And so we came to the end of our volunteering gig in Bodh Gaya; and it was time to see some test results. No, not the results of students' tests. There weren't any. The results from the blood tests we'd taken the previous week. So we walked back to the medical lab, and at first … Continue reading Portraits of Students – Bodh Gaya Workaway Wrap-Up
Finally the day came that we'd been eagerly anticipating for an entire week: the day we got our blood tests done. It was an especially cheery occasion for Dennis, who has a perennial phobia about needles, and normally has to lie down while getting blood drawn, and sometimes recites Shakespeare as a distraction. This time, … Continue reading Blood Tests, Beggars and Birthdays in Bodh Gaya
On Tuesday, Aug. 16, we decided to make another excursion into Gaya in the afternoon. In the morning, of course, we taught at the school as usual -- and had a little session in doing the hokey - pokey. The kids took down the Independence Day decorations from the previous day, including the big flagpole, … Continue reading Our Trip to Gaya
August 13 and 14 were busy days at our school in Bodh Gaya, even though there were few classes. The students and teachers, and a couple of assistants, were excitedly decking out the school for India's Independence Day. The preparations included decorating and erecting a long, thick bamboo pole to serve as the flagpole. (Construction … Continue reading Decking the Halls and Celebrating Freedom: Bodh Gaya’s Vibrant Independence Day Festival Prep
On Monday, August 8, we began our new volunteer teaching position through WorkAway at the school in Bodh Gaya, India. The director gave us a ride to school, even though it was really only a couple of blocks away. Thereafter, we'd be walking every day, with some of the students walking along with us as … Continue reading First Days of Volunteer Teaching in Bodh Gaya
On Monday, July 24, we began our third week of volunteer teaching in Faizabad. As in the previous two weeks, we spent the first three days at the campuses in town. Jingle Bell School and Academy, Faizabad In addition to his English classes, Dennis led the drama group in another meeting; and again it was … Continue reading Volunteer Teaching Adventures: Drama, Cultural Encounters, and Mischievous Monkeys
world travel with a theatrical flair 