Another Email

Here is an email that I wrote to a new friend out here in India...

I’m excited about the June shivir, as well!! One, it’s Ganesh-ji’s shivir, and from what I’ve heard from Mridu and others, his shibhirs are “mind-blowing”. Two, I’m looking forward to just interacting with everyone that’s going to be here. It should be fun… I feel that there will be sooo many people here that it may be difficult to get quality time with people… but we’ll see… My friend that’s in Mumbai right now (the one who I came to India with) will be coming to the shhivir as well. I haven’t seen him in 3-4 months… soo, that is also exciting! =)

So, you said: “you have decided to extend your stay until november, that is good news indeed. Is it indicative of your desire to stay and learn more at SIdh paritucularly or perhaps the need for some more time to think about things, mull over ideas in general (i realise that this may come across as a rude question, but i am seriously interested)....”

So, first… yes, I will be staying out in India until Nov/Dec. I decided to reject the acceptance to the Teaching Credential program (like a B.Ed.) in S.F. to stay out here longer.

I’m no longer looking at this “India trip” as a “break” or “vacation” or a “gap year”… this is it. This is life. Not meaning that I’m going to spend the rest of my life in India, not saying that I’m going to live in India permanently…. But just saying that it’s no longer a “break” before I move on to “real” things, you know?

So, what am I going to do out here? Why did I make the decision to stay out here? #1 I definitely want to work in education… although I do want to eventually be involved in “formal education” (school), I also see education as more multi-dimensional… camps, workshops, etc. are all forms of education as well. So, maybe the main thing for me is that I want to work with children/youth… So, over the last 3 months, I have been trying to get more clarity on what my philosophy for education is. What is education? What is its purpose? How can we best serve that purpose – content & methods? Therefore, being at SIDH… has really been valuable. After the June shivir, my friend and I are planning to travel around and visit the various experiments in education or alternate education schools in India… including the big ones such as krishnamurti, aurobindo, shantiniketan, etc. but also visiting various NGO’s that are trying “alternate” education models. Again, I just want to further my understanding of education and get different viewpoints.

After that…. One thing that I want to do btwn. now and before I leave is plan out Youth Camps for indo-americans (or in general, Indian diaspora) college students during the summer. Having 1 month-long camp in June, 1 in July, and 1 in August (for 2007). So, there’s defintinely planning involved with that …. Do I want to do it under an organization… like SIDH? Or, do I want to do it privately… and also use it to make some profit? So, basically it would be mean opening a business… I would definitely need people on the India end that I’m partnered with.

Finally… the main thing… is when I do leave India… I want to lay the foundation of a long-term relationship with some education-related project (hopefully with a school, or the formation of a new school, or something). Right now, at SIDH, I’ve had my hand in many of their different programs… however, I don’t have a “project” of my own… So, there’s something there… I want to be involved in something from the ground up…. With a group of like-minded individuals. I know all of this is very vague…. But this is what is floating around in my head.

I definitely think that I need some real “on the ground w/ actual students” experience at some point for a regular, continuous time…. So, in the future, I’m not just talking out of my ass, but have real experience to base it on. Therefore, I was considering going back to the States, getting my teaching credential, and teaching for a couple years. However… in the end… I feel that I have too much momentum out here, and too many things that I still want to do… so, if I were to go back, I feel this journey would be incomplete. Also, I feel that I don’t want to get caught up in things that I’m not passionate about. The teaching credential program SEEMED cool… but it also seemed like it very possibly could have taken over my life… and maybe, I’m just scared of losing the momentum that I’ve created for myself out here? Being involved in this process of “understanding”… maybe I fear that without the right environment… I won’t be able to sustain it out there.