Week 1

When I drove through the gates of Shanti Bhavan last Thursday I was scared, I can’t even lie. The two and half hour drive from Bangalore to the village of Baliganapalli was not long enough for me to come to terms with the fact that I would be living by myself in the middle of India for the next four weeks. I knew it would be a hard adjustment, and it was, but I didn’t realize that only a week later I would feel at home in a place halfway around the world from Portland, OR.

As my first week at Shanti Bhavan comes to an end, there’s a lot of emotions running through my head including feelings of anticipation, fulfillment, and excitement. Teaching and living here has given me a sense of purpose that I have never experienced before. I have grown to care about each one of these students and have a vested interest in their success, both academically and otherwise. I continuously find myself searching for opportunities to work with students outside the classroom, and I am thankful that they have embraced me with open arms.

It’s easy for American volunteers to come into a new country and take on a savior complex. At Shanti Bhavan, this could not be further from the truth. My fellow volunteers and I are extremely grateful for this opportunity and understand that we have just as much to learn from these students and the Shanti Bhavan institution as they do from us. It’s very easy to forget about the outside world when you’re at Shanti Bhavan because it truly functions as its own mini-society. It takes at least an hour drive to get to the nearest city, so there isn’t much interaction with the outside world. All of the food that is served at Shanti Bhavan is grown locally by the school, and the electricity is powered by solar energy. But what makes this school so special in my opinion is the genuine love and care that everyone in the community has for each other. While talking to my roommate last night, Marshall Wootton (who is amazing by the way, go follow him on instagram @mtoddwoot), we came to the realization that there is nothing like this institution back in the states. An institution where everyone from the cooks, to the aunties, to the students loves each other and puts others'

needs before their own. An institution where you are constantly thinking about the betterment of your community because it truly is the only thing that matters. It may be because we spend so much time together, but it also may be that there is truly something special about Shanti Bhavan.

P.S. The new Drake album is fire