January 17, 2023
Feeling Hopeful
Today, like most days these past two weeks, was a full day. Starting at 8:00 AM, which is a little later than usual, all of us gathered for breakfast at the hostel. After a short lesson on “Prof Julian’s life story,” which I thoroughly enjoyed as we learned more about his goals and ambitions, we…
January 16, 2023
Dispatches from The Tail End of Week Two
We’re two weeks in India now, settling in to our first expedition outside Bangalore. Thursday played out as most days have so far: early start, late finish and many hours bouncing, weaving and honking our way up and down chaotic Indian roads in a trusty Tempo Traveler. It was another long day and as the…
January 13, 2023
Village Visit
Today we embarked on our first adventure outside the city of Bangalore. We began at the Ramanagara silk market where experienced reelers could simply reach their hand into a large tray of silk cocoons and recognize the grade and quality of the silk. When asked how he knew the grade of silk, a reeler responded…
January 12, 2023
Noise
Noise. It’s one of the things that I noticed over the nine days I’ve been in India so far. There is always some sort of noise. From the constant orchestra of vehicles honking on the road, the dogs barking in the street, women sweeping in front of houses and businesses early in the morning, waste…
January 11, 2023
The People’s Voice Comes First
The weeks leading up to GCIL filled me with anticipation for the opportunity to learn, but also a feeling of intimidation for the challenges that were to come. Within me was a desire to accomplish something meaningful not just for the city of Bangalore, but for my own personal development. Since I arrived in Bangalore,…
January 10, 2023
5 Deep Breaths
Embarking on this journey with the GCIL program, I had many hopes and dreams, and with that, expectations. Sometimes, the expectations grew overwhelming. I remember feeling really anxious the first couple of days in Bangalore as I thought about all that I had left behind in Washington, from my projects to my classes to cherished…
January 9, 2023
A Nandi Hills Outing
Today we traveled to the Nandi Hills, a region north of Bangalore featuring farm communities and prominent, forested peaks jutting abruptly from the rolling hillscape. Bhargavi, an advocate for sustainability in Bangalore who had given us a lecture the previous day on Bangalore’s history, accompanied us on this visit. We first visited the Sri Bhoga…
January 7, 2023
Failure as a Path Toward Success
When I was in 2nd grade, my parents signed me up for a rec basketball team. I was playing on a team with a group of older girls from my neighborhood, and as it was my first time playing basketball, I was absolutely terrible. I felt out of place around the older girls, was embarrassed…
January 6, 2023
Planting the Seed
The University of Washington is widely known as one of the most innovative universities in the country but sometimes innovative projects and ideas are difficult to discover. In all my experiences at UW, I have seen many instances where innovation was specifically encouraged and visible and where innovation was hidden and hard to spot with…
January 5, 2023
A Self-Reflection Bootcamp
It’s only been two full days of the GCIL program, and I am already beginning to struggle with all the things about me that are being brought to light through all the interactions and activities. There is so much happening, and although they are all fantastic experiences that I do not wish to miss out…
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