Their journey started months ago. But 15 students from Mount
Madonna School are just a day away from touching down in New Dehli,
India. It’s going to be a trip of a lifetime.
Morgan Hill – Their journey started months ago. But 15 students from Mount Madonna School are just a day away from touching down in New Dehli, India. It’s going to be a trip of a lifetime.
Their two-week venture is known as the Vidya Dharma (Path of Knowledge) Project – part of MMS teacher’s Ward Mailliard’s two-year “Value in World Thought” program.
For the next two weeks, Morgan Hill MMS students will write about their experience as they travel India – including a meeting with the Dalai Lama, no less – and send photos straight from the scene.
Check back for their latest entries.
Almost day 1: Anticipation is high
By Emma Petersen, MMS senior
“Since the start of the year, my class has been excited to take this adventure to India together. We’ve spent almost eight months preparing for our two-week trip. The amount of time and work we’ve put into this trip just goes to show what a huge opportunity this is, and how amazing it will be once we are there. In our time preparing we have been researching for our interviews and what we will come across there, such as the vast culture shock that we will be going through and the many different lifestyles.
I am most excited to go to the Sri Ram Ashram, located in Haridwar, where we will be spending four days. This ashram was founded by Baba Hari Dass, a silent monk who now lives near Santa Cruz, and is an inspiration behind the founding of Mount Madonna School. One of my classmates, Soma Sharan, was raised at the ashram and later came to America for more opportunities. Being able to see her where she grew up is going to be really interesting; we have never gotten to see that side of her life and it will just bring her that much closer to all of us.
I am very thankful for this opportunity that has been given to us. I believe that we have truly earned this experience through all the work that we have done. I understand that this trip will be a challenge for each of us, being out of our comfort zones, away from all of our families, and putting all drama aside to just be able to experience this as a whole. I know and trust the people in my class and around me, and I know that we will succeed.
Danielle Quinn, MMS senior
“Hours of class time discussions, countless websites reviewed for research, and journals full of notes are just three elements of preparations for our India trip that come to mind. We’ve been talking about this trip all year; naming it Vidya Dharma, gathering interviews of people we find both interesting and important, reading the Dalai Lama’s book “Ethics for the New Millennium”; learning about cultural faux pas, and even watching a Bollywood movie.
There are 15 of us in the senior class making this trip, and each of us is excited, nervous, and very curious to see what we discover over there, both about ourselves and the country we will be living in for two weeks. I am ecstatic to take this journey and find myself going into it with an open mind, ready for all the new adventures and discoveries that await me. I also understand that the Vidya Dharma Project is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I plan to not take for granted for one moment.”
By James Clifton, MMS senior
“At the end of the previous school year, our teacher, Ward Mailliard, informed us that if we agreed to be invested in our work as seniors, we would have an opportunity to travel to India and possibly have a private interview with the Dalai Lama. Well, now it is happening; the trip is a go and the interviews are scheduled. We have been working really hard to get prepared for this trip in advance, so that when we get there, we can simply experience as much as possible. I will admit that while before I was feeling only excitement about this trip, these feelings are now hand-in-hand with nervousness.
I had the opportunity to listen to the Dalai Lama speak when he came to San Jose in November 2010. He talked about many things that made me even more excited about our trip. I look forward to being able to see him again, and this time having a conversation about topics that I can directly relate to, such as education.
My class and I have been working hard for the last few months to narrow down possible interview questions to just a handful that we will be asking. One of the questions that I am interested in is, “If humility is important, how do you counteract a sense of entitlement?” I am looking forward to the Dalai Lama’s reply.”
