LEAPNOW: Transforming Education

Though doing solo internships during the spring semester, LEAPYEAR students post to a Yahoo group that allows them to share inspirations, and support one another during difficult times:

So I woke up this morning and realized that I am surrounded by beauty. It was especially sunny today but there are always giant fluffy clouds. In the mornings they tickle the tops of the mountains that surround the valley where I am.  Later they clear and I can see
the snowcapped peaks of the Andes from the open wall of one of the dirt floor huts I teach in. The children are adorable and I have surprised myself with how patient I have been in teaching the letter E for two days and counting.  My Spanish is getting better despite
the fact that my teacher keeps flaking.
Last night the English volunteers and I made pancakes which is a tradition in England and ate them with our Peruvian family. The family also just got a tiny orange fluffy kitten that always helps when I feel lonely.
The area I am in reminds me at times of India. All the families washing clothes and bathing in the dirty irrigation canals and living in little clay huts with dirt floors and open windows.  Pigs,
cows, donkeys, chickens and dogs run wild but there is a sad lack of llamas. Overall I am good for now though I miss you all terribly and I am often quite lonely.  I am worried that I will be really lonely in about two weeks when the other volunteers leave but hopefully more will come soon.

At the start of the LEAPYEAR individual internship, it’s not uncommon for students to feel lonely.  This student was just starting a 3 month internship working with autistic children in Vietnam:

I’m lonely.

It’s just me, myself and I in this chaotic Asian city. Nobody speaks a word of English and although I’ve made a couple of friends, I still spend the majority of my time solo.  I was sitting by the cathedral, drinking cappuccino and writing in my journal and I had this
sudden wave of panic come over me: What if this is it?  What if this is what the rest of my life will look like?  Days spent in cafes dreaming about adventures and relationships I’ll never experience?  Then I brought myself back to the present and realized how completely melodramatic I can be (especially when I have time to wonder).  It’s my 5th day out of 3 months… we should all give ourselves a pat on the back. Most of the foreigners I meet here are in their late twenties and traveling with other people.. And here we are, barely 20 and taking on foreign lands all by ourselves… So remember it’s only the beginning.
It’s supposed to feel sticky at times, but “this too shall pass”.
That’s my little self-pep talk for the day.

A report from a LEAPYEAR student who is studying Thai and Thai Boxing in Thailand:

Today’s training was packed with flying fists, kicks and sweat. It was the most intense day yet for me and it’s just the start. My knuckles are raw and I broke skin a bit on a couple of them. I wasn’t using gloves. I semi-enjoy the pain. But also the communal gloves they have here are nasty, sweaty and caked with grease. I need to buy a personal pair, I should have brought some from home. I don’t know why I didn’t.

This random short Irish guy (I think he was Irish) started showing me pointers while I was punching the bag and I think I understood about 60% percent of what he was saying. I seem to have trouble understanding other people here. It’s like a curse. He was a short fella
and apparently has been boxing for ten years. He showed me his left ear which had the top portion of it cut off. At one point he whipped out his cell phone and showed me some pictures of his last fight that he lost to this huge Thai in Chiang Mai. I made sure to listen to him cause
physically he looked like he knew what he was talking about, but I’m not so sure vocally. He lost his words a couple of times and just had to resort to demonstrating. Must have lost a few too many brain cells. He told me to emphasize punch combinations over kicking. He also told me to avoid grappling in a fight and to just push the opponent away. That’s why my knuckles are sore and red. Though my right foot is also tender. I’m getting faster and getting more stamina, which is very satisfying to experience.

The weather has been absolutely perfect and it seems like this is a vacation on these warm dreamy sunny days. Life is easy going here and the people are warm. I could live here. Oh wait, I am!

Man I’m going to be sore in the morning…..

This just in yesterday from a LEAPYEAR student taking a break from her community development internship in rural Peru to hike up the Inca Trail to the famous “Lost City of the Incas,”  Machu Picchu.

So yesterday my friend and I made it through all the tourist traps to the lost city of Machu Picchu.  We have been planning to go together since 7th grade so it was awesome to get to follow through on that.  The way there was a nightmare of overpriced fees and tickets but there really is no describing the sensation of seeing it in person. Everyone has seen the famous picture of the ruins and it is a beautiful picture. It is the mountains surrounding the ruins that give it mystery, however.  It is amazing how you can in one of the most touristy places on earth and somehow still feel as if you have stumbled upon a great unknown.
There is something about that place that makes it run so deep in you.
It is like the atmosphere is to big for a body to absorb and pushes you out of controlling the experience. You pose for the photos but at the same time it feels utterly pointless to make the effort to capture this place in the dimensions of a photograph as the visual component is only the medium for opening the true draw of this place’s energy.
There were condors circling the ruins and endless little miracles of being somewhere so profound.  I still can’t believe I went there but it is one of those things that I know will continue to influence me as it has time to sink in.
Already I feel more connected to how vast a mountain lies below me as I stand on the tip of the evolution of human thought and consciousness. Seeing such vast ruins reminds one of how many ways of thinking have been pushed to extinction to make room for the knowledge of our world today.

Written by a LEAPYEAR India student during his first weeks in Varanasi – the “City of Light” on the Ganges:

The morning after my group arrived in Varanasi, we headed toward the ghat where a wooden rowing boat wobbled in the Ganges. I stepped into the boat as delicately as I could, not wanting to spill over.  The sun had yet to show itself, but I felt its presence behind the horizon. It was waiting to pounce on me, to erase the chilled haziness of night that still lingered heavily in my head. We were taken away by the current before my eyes could adjust themselves to the surrealness of the architecture, the river, and the children.  I saw old men brushing their teeth in the same waters that carried swollen dogs no longer breathing, and thought to myself; that is unconditional faith.

I remember having this type of egoless faith in my childhood, when I believed that god was everywhere at all times. Ironically, at this point at my life, after many years of rejection and spite toward religion, I’m beginning to suspect that god is everywhere at all times. What place does religion occupy in my life? It is beyond obvious that religion has stood behind many decisions that have heavily mapped out my life. I can be bitter when it comes to this subject, but at the same time, I can’t deny that religion harbors some of the most beautiful expressions of love I have ever witnessed. Religion is neither good nor bad; it can be just as thoroughly defended as it can be debunked. These words are meant to do neither, rather, they will consist of my observations and experiences and how religion offers perspectives that I have found essential to my growth.

There has been one major shift in my lifetime that was both beyond my control and the result of ripple-like decisions that were the result of dogmatic influences: my mother’s migration from Mexico to the United States. She was in many ways exiled by the people in her town for bearing a child out of wedlock.  A storm of whispers and judgments followed her everywhere she went. I can’t imagine being under such scrutiny, especially in a town where everybody knows everybody’s parents.  These judgments were largely (if not fully) fueled by the local Catholic Church.

That dust settled a decade and a half ago, but it led to me being raised outside my homeland. This has been bittersweet.  On one hand, I was better educated and have been blessed with endless opportunities to make myself rich (internally and externally), on the other; I grew up alienated and with an archetypal abusive stepfather.  I still hold a lot of anger and resentment towards my past, and many of the people who ran it.  I don’t think I was treated fairly or humanely by many people who are not my mother.  It is not something I wish to erase from my memory.  It is what it is, and it has made me who I am.  I’m only acknowledging that religion was as influential in my life as my birth.

Of course, religion has not only influenced my life negatively.  For example, the alienation that I felt during my childhood was indirectly created by the religious influences in my mother’s life, we’ve established that.  Ironically, religion also offered me ease and comfort when it came to these existential problems.  Religion was a bond between me and my mother.  Every night, before we went to sleep, my mother and I would spend half an hour reciting prayers so that god would protect us in our sleep.  It was a way of asking and a way of showing gratitude.  In many respects, religion was both a problem and a solution.

I was a very nervous and active child.  My imagination often terrorized me, and whenever I was caught in absolute darkness, I would repeat “God” over and over again to shield myself from all types of evil.  Whenever thunderstorms invaded my reality, I would run to my brothers and pray with them until the angels came and fought off the grey, looming menace.  Religion has many roles.  It comforts and it dictates.  It inspires love and hate.  It can be a shield and a sword.  It gives people structure, a reason to live and to die.

The people bathing, chanting in the Ganges seemed untouchable. It was a strange and beautiful experience. I felt like a phantom, like a branch flowing in the river, while natives blossomed around me, opening themselves, absorbing the enormity and splendor of the sun’s rays becoming one with the current. There had to be an unseen force at work. The architecture, the people, they were all too perfect. The sights spilled like ink, seeped through my consciousness, permeated my ego. The awe that I felt spread in my being, it was pumped into my veins and I became more aware. I breathed with vigor. Oxygen had never felt so good. Spirituality and romance was natural as well as vital in the atmosphere.

It was unsaid and true that neither the physical nor the spiritual could exist without the other in Varanasi, and I realize now, with absolute conviction and joy, that I died a little that morning.

This was written by a LEAPYEAR student who traveled in India between during September and October 2007. Her thoughts on exploring religion and spirituality through her travels:

From a young age, I was aware that there are many religions; not everyone believes the same thing about how the world began, where miraculous events come from and what happens when we die. I know that not everyone worships in the same way to the same being. I even knew that some people believe in nothing more meaningful than the growth and decay of our tissue and enjoying this life while it lasts. It was not until I thought about coming to India and began to learn about Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, however, that I truly realized that I had spent the majority of my life believing nothing. I didn’t believe in No-God or Afterlife, but I didn’t necessarily believe in one either. Growing up, I knew that life is meaningful, but I had never really considered why, and what the true root and nature of that meaning might be, and, all of a sudden, I found myself in a country where spirituality in many forms flavors all aspects of society. Consequently, the past two months have been, among other things, both an exploration of the beliefs of the people of India as well as an investigation of my own dormant spirituality.

From each religion I encountered, I recognized parts of life, and of myself, that I had never before examined. As each form of devotion was revealed to me, they became more beautiful, and life became more precious. Gradually, I have developed a greater sense of humility and of potential that, ultimately and through whichever path, leads to oneness with God and with creation.

A report received in September 2007, from a LEAPYEAR group leader after a week with her group in India – reflecting on the simultaneous experience of beauty and suffering that assails many Western travelers in India:

 Varanasi has been wonderful so far.  Our first morning here we took a sunrise river trip along the banks of the Ganges River.  The rising sun cast a golden, warm light over everything as we watched the people of Varanasi engage in their daily activities that bring them to the river each day.  They bathe themselves and their children, they brush their teeth, they wash their clothes, and more than anything they seem to be connecting with their spiritual selves — praying, meditating, chanting….  It really is so very special to be able to witness.  I have been struck by the effortless way spirituality is intertwined in all parts of life here in India.  There appears to be no separation between spirituality and the individual, or community, or tasks, or nature.  Here there is divinity in all things.

And, I am still struggling with the poverty — it truly is inescapable here.  I am constantly being asked for money, and cannot avert my eyes from homeless and starving people.  It is very, very difficult for me to know what to “do”… should I look at the person, engage with them, acknowledge their suffering?  If I do that, can I do that with everyone?  And, then it gets so daunting and draining that I don’t have the energy to leave my room.  Should I give them something because for me it is so easy to give, how can I have a pocket full of money and not give?  But how can I give to EVERYONE, and when I give a little, everyone follows and wants more? And do I want to be in that kind of relationship, continuing that cycle of white American savior?

And for sales-people and vendors, should I believe them as a demonstration of trust, as a way to bring possibility in the world, a way to shift the relationship of distrust…trust in human goodness, shift the prevailing belief that people are out to trick me?  But if I do that, am I just another gullible woman who doesn’t see the reality of the world?

Do I have to put up defenses to function successfully? And if I have to do that, disconnect in some way from people to function, than what possibility is there in the world?…accepting that idea would be devastatingly sad to me. I find myself going through this train of thoughts every time I walk down the street and it is starting to feel draining.  And yet what was even more draining is the way that these experiences affected my worldview…they leave me with incredibly deep and difficult questions like…  What does authentic human connection look like?  What is possibility in this environment?  Why do I have what I have? What is my obligation to end suffering if I can?  Can I?  What does it mean about the human experience and what is possible in the world if I shut off to people who are trying to connect with me?

And of course these all lead me to deeper questions about the meaning and purpose in life, my goodness and worth as a human being….  There is so, so much to think about here.

But these are all questions that are there for me all the time, India just gave me the gift of bringing them into my consciousness like a sharp stick in a small moment to trigger growth and learning… and I think that India is teaching me how to sit with the questions.  And that is what I am choosing to do now — to live with the questions and let them carve deep reservoirs of love and intrigue and growth in my heart.

The suffering of animals is also very hard for me to be with — sometimes even harder than with people.  There are cows everywhere here.  Sometimes I feel as though I am seeing more cows on the streets than people.  They are generally healthy, but the last two days I have been watching a young calf who seems to be very sick.  Today I left my guesthouse and found the calf laying down in the alley.  It was filthy — literally laying in its own excrement, and surrounded by hundreds of flies. It did not look good for the calf — I thought the swarming flies probably knew something that I didn’t.  I wanted to do something to help… but I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject with people on the street.  How could I be offering to buy food, or medicine, or a doctor for this suffering calf but not give money to the homeless women and her tiny baby begging me for money right next to the calf?  I feel so guilty for wanting to help the calf.   Perhaps I just want to feel that my gift can make a difference and that is easier to see in the short term with the calf.  The sick calf was eating away at me for a couple of days so I eventually called my contact here and asked him what might be possible.  He found the cow’s owner and learned that the calf has already been given some medicine for worms and gas.  I am going to check back in tomorrow — I hope she makes it.

On a lighter note, our days here are fantastic.  We start each day with a 1.5 hour yoga class on the roof of a yoga ashram that sits right on the banks of the Ganges.  It starts just after six, so we get to see the sun rise as we practice our yoga.  Our yoga teacher is unbelievably good — the best I have ever had. Our yoga classes are followed by breakfast and then 2.5 hours of Hindi class — which is quite difficult — I find myself hoping that the teacher doesn’t call on me.   But, its pretty hard to escape getting called on because there are only 5 of us in each class.  Then there is lunch — I have lunch with a different student each day.  Next, the students go to their service internships.  Some of the students are volunteering at this wonderful orphanage and school.  The children there are warm and energetic and full of life.  They love my name because they also have a dog there named Jamie!  The students teach them English and also get some practice with their Hindi learning.  The children love to make fun of the way that we pronounce Hindi words!

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India is everything I remembered and so much more.  The vibrant pinks and oranges and blues are everywhere.  The women in their brightly-colored saris, the vendors selling fruits on the street, the signs on the buildings — everywhere there is color.   And sounds, and smells!  I feel like it would be impossible for me to describe it all with words.  It is both beautiful and grotesque at the same time, bright and happy and then dark and terribly sad at the same time too.  The poverty is very difficult to be with.  Never has the world’s disparity been more evident to me than it is now.  Actually, it is so hard to be with, that I sort of haven’t been with it yet, not in an authentic way.  I know I will be, and I am entering slowly and lightly with all of it.    

On our first day here another co-leader and I, Jane, went to the train station and tried to buy train tickets to our next destinations — and it was the most perfect first day experience for India.  The outside of the train station was swarming with people, rickshaws and taxis.  We tried to enter the station through one entrance and were stopped by a guy claiming to be an Indian government official.  He said that we could not go to the tourist office that we needed to go to another off-site office to buy our tickets because the train station office was closed for construction.  He said that he would arrange for a rickshaw to take us to the office which was now located off-site because of the construction.  We tried to ignore him and tell him that we were not interested, but he would not leave us alone, insisting that he had nothing to gain, even pulling out an official looking business card, and walking us up near the train station so that we could see the construction.  He would not give us even a moment to think or allow us to escape him for even a brief moment of peace – Jane said “don’t listen to him — this doesn’t feel right”, but I thought what if he is right and then we can’t buy our tickets today (because he told us we only had 30 minutes to get to the other office before it closed for the day) – the guy was brilliantly convincing and of course I am brilliantly gullible.  So, we fell for it and they drove us away from the train station to some private tourist office where all the people who had helped us get there would have gotten a profit.  We looked inside, saw it was not the official government of India travel office and left.  Then, we got in another rickshaw and asked to go to the Official Government Tourist office, even showing the driver where it was on the map, and got taken to another private tourist office! It is hard to know who to trust around here!  Eventually we made it back to the real train station, went upstairs to the tourist office and bought our tickets.  The lesson:  anyone who is insistent on getting you to go somewhere, or do something or wont let you think for a minute is DEFINITELY not an Indian official.  The real officials move at the pace of snails and could care less what you do.  It took me about one hour to work with a train station employee to buy my group’s tickets, and as soon as I got finished and Jane sat down to buy her group’s, the guy said “shift change” and made us wait another hour while he just sat at his desk and did nothing. It was the perfect first day Indian adventure!

Today we are in a very busy market area buying Indian clothes so that we blend in more.  There are people everywhere, cows roaming the streets, drums, horns, monkeys — probably exactly what you think of when you think of India!  It is fantastic.  I just got the most incredible henna tattoos on my hands.  It was the best part of my day because I got to speak with the artist for over an hour while he did my hands.  He is also a doctor of Ayurveda, so we talked a lot about that and his family and Delhi and Indian clothes.  It was the best part of my trip so far.  I also had tea with an India woman and her baby earlier this morning.

 Tonight we take an all-night train to Varanasi!

 

 

This LEAPYEAR student took the leaping part of his journey literally, getting involved with an Ethiopian rite of passage:

I’m in Ethiopia right now. I came here about two weeks ago from Eritrea. After shadow puppets and talking with NUEYS there wasn’t a lot for me to do in Asmara or Eritrea, so I found a way to head south to Ethiopia. The border between the two countries is currently closed because of the conflict they are having and have been having for a couple of years now so I flew to Yemen and then to Addis Ababa.(Eritrea used to be a part of Ethiopia until it got it’s independence in 1991 and then another border dispute happened in 2000, yadda yadda there’s a lot of politics there I won’t bore you over.) Addis, the capital of Ethiopia, is a big city compared to anything in Eritrea. It’s a definite culture shock as there is soooo much here compared to what I was living with in Eritrea. One big difference: There are FOREIGNERS! Haha.

For the last 10 days I joined a tour to the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia…home to the many diverse tribes of rural African Horn. The Ari, Hamers, Arbore, Karo, Bodi, Mursi, and a couple of others; each one different and unique and thriving off of tourism.  It costs 12 cents to take their pictures and whatnot. They are becoming quite popular with National Geographic and with improved roads, lots of tourists are headed there too. It is both a good and a bad thing…tourism means western exposure, but the money from the photos ups the standard of living and provides AIDS research and health facilities for the locals. So it’s a bittersweet relationship.

Um, the highlight and the most amazing thing to happen to me is I joined the Hamer tribe (literally) for two days (I was only supposed to see them for a half day). They introduced me to their famous Jumping of the Bulls ceremony and of course I got involved in the only way I know how. I lived with the tribe, ate freshly killed goat, dressed up in traditional beads and cloth (yes, just one piece of cloth), lived like a local. It was amazing. The tribe was so welcoming and friendly and it was really nice to be finally a part of something instead of alone, by myself. The jumps were amazing and I am now in the process of research for my Ethnology Project. The best news is that the tribe has asked me to live with them whenever I like and are willing to build a hut for me and my family when we come. I will inevitably be coming back and helping to establish better living standards like building a well, maybe introducing solar powered electricity and whatnot…they have a list of things they want and I want to help as much as I can as well…I just have to be careful with how much I want to “influence” them.
These are amazing people. They have also offered for me to do my own Jumping of the Bulls in a couple of years. What can I say?   I will definitely be coming back many times to these people. They are  indescribable…