I think we were all in various stages of saying, "Hello" to the camera or we were just being silly as people who like each other are wont to do. I'm back in Delhi now after a wonderful week in the mountains with these peeps. We learned, played, camped, climbed, impersonated, laughed, danced, cooked, shivered, ate, acted, discussed, shared, and hiked together. I got to experience the pain and joy of the group process. If you know me, you know that I struggle with impatience. Once I get the point, I want to move onto the next point. Thanks to my training, I can label myself an Accommodating Learner with a bias towards action. And thanks to this week spent with amazing people of all learning styles, I can sit back and take a deep breath as I enjoy the journey. Tonight is the first time in 12 days that I have an evening to myself. I miss being surrounded by close friends, deep fellowship, and challenging conversations. A friend's e-mail today reminded me to desir...

i'm in one of those "no need to use caps, happy to abbrev, might as well type in हिन्दी" moods. i've always wondered how my name in Hindi should be spelled so thanks to blogspot's new Hindi application here you go: सराह। though i think this is a more phonetic representation: सेरा। i've been working in delhi for one month and need a break so i'm heading to the mountains tomorrow night for a week of training with youreka , an educational organization whose offerings include outdoor summer camps for students. i hope to spend a couple weeks with them this summer. for the next week, i'll play games and learn about youreka's educational philosophy and approach. now, let me share about today's activities. i love the ngo with which i'm working, i love my flexible work arrangement that allows me to work from home on my own schedule, i love my neighborhood, & i love my flat. where else would i get to watch a daily parade from my doorway? my sis ...

Last weekend, Naina, Sukrat, and I traveled to the border city of Amritsar . Though we thoroughly enjoyed our chance meetings with a self-proclaimed saint, Sant, a Frenchman, and a group of proud Indian grad students, each stop was marked by sorrow. We began at Jallianwala Bagh, a garden that was the site of a 1919 massacre of Indians. British troops fired on the crowd that had gathered to commemorate the religious new year, leading to people throwing themselves into a well to escape the relentless fire of bullets. After a lunchtime intermission at the Langar Canteen at the Golden Temple where meals are offered free of cost to anyone, we continued to the Indo-Pak border crossing known as the Wagah Border. The atmosphere was festive, replete with music, dancing, and cheering. Only after my initial excitement did I realize that the crowd was also jeering at the Pakistanis across the border. Indian soldiers held back the crowd of rowdy boys quickly becoming vengeful men. We left e...