2025 Student Blog
January 22, 2025
Building Community, Brick by Brick
Today we got to meet our organization–some of us, for the second time. For Team Rise Bionics, we were fortunate to make some introductions the first week in India. In today’s meeting, our goal was to determine deliverables, make more detailed introductions, and dive deeper into our GCIL project. Arun began the meeting by sharing…
January 21, 2025
Kids are the Teachers
Throughout middle school and high school it was very common for older kids to be pared with younger kids for various activities. I always dreaded this. I didn’t know how to act around children and I thought the they had the ability to sense my fear. But over the past few years I’ve overcome that…
A Day of Learning and Play
Coming back from our first weekend off in Mysore, I didn’t think anything could top the grandeur of the palace—its intricate designs and historical richness left me in awe. And, of course, the amazing froyo we had before leaving the city. But as the new week began, I realized that while Mysore offered breathtaking sights,…
January 20, 2025
Srirangapatna: A Journey to Connection
Waking up to the morning light and the soothing flow of the Kaveri River, we began our day in awe of the place we had awoken to. As we set out, a small path led us along a channel carefully redirected away from the river to give life to the valley and livelihoods to its…
What India has Taught me about Community
I used to get mad at my dad for talking to strangers, asking for directions, smiling or saying hello. People do not want to be bothered, or rather- new people are dangerous and unfamiliar. Strangers will only try to hurt you or take from you in some way. In Seattle, we isolate ourselves like clockwork;…
January 17, 2025
From Hands to Machines
Over forty years ago a couple in the town of Ramanagara worked to turn silk cocoons into silk thread. They had no employees and did the entire process completely by hand and still managed to produce 2kg of thread each day, that’s over 10,000 silk cacoons per day on average; today much of the process…
Serendipitous Song Lyric
Another early morning for us GCIL students, and we were greeted by a familiar view: our faux party bus that we’ve become so accustomed to. However, today was a little different – a bus filled with tired eyes, late-night partiers, and the immunocompromised few… all headed to Mysore, of course! As we drive, we pass…
Purpose and Peace
January 15th was a day well spent broadening our horizons through the wisdom of guest lectures within the walls of BMS. Our journey began with Kaylea Menon, a longtime GCIL associate, who shared her inspiring story of traveling to India. She recounted how her calling to improve water systems for all, regardless of socioeconomic standing,…
Silk and Luck
Yesterday started at 5:45 A.M. when we all dragged ourselves downstairs to load onto a bus with very little idea of where we were headed. About an hour and a half into the bus ride we stopped in Ramanagara, at the Government Cocoon Market. As we walked under the green arch into the market, all…
Trek
After starting the day off early to fit in all the activities of the day, we made our way through the silk worm cocoon market, breakfast, the silk loomers, a quick visit to a wastewater treatment plant, a bird sanctuary, and finally ended the day with a hike to see a Jain statue atop a…
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