2025 Student Blog
January 27, 2025
Finding Peace in the Chaos
While our fellow GCILers were closing their weekend off near the ocean, three of us decided to take a different route and stay back in Bengaluru. With our laid-back start to the day, we had a great brunch at The Green Door Coffee House, a tiny gem tucked away in a quiet neighborhood. Located on…
January 24, 2025
Perceiving People’s Purpose
Most mornings, I walk alone from the hostel to the gym. Along the way, I see the same men waiting for the cafe to open, the same vendors setting up their sidewalk stalls, and the same cows and dogs perusing the streets. One morning, I witnessed a dog directing traffic. The dog barked continuously and…
Home
I’ve been wondering lately about what homesickness and the word home mean. I’ve learned that for me, home is a lot like happiness, not found outside but found within. Today, I was reminded of home; I broke fast with a bowl of yogurt, fruit and almonds with a cup of hot tea. This is my…
January 23, 2025
Regroup, Rejuvenate, Reclaim
As we enjoy another late breakfast, and by late, I mean 8:30 in the morning, we’re tasked with watching several videos and reading a few articles about Bengaluru’s water supply. Some of the ideas surround governance, pollution, lake restoration, and much more. We then participate in a role-playing activity in the afternoon, exploring the different…
Home Away from Home
Today, Bhargavi assigned us a role-playing exercise. She provided some readings and videos for us to consume before heading to BMS to conduct the role-playing exercise. I’m the type of person who can’t focus at home and get my best work done at cafes. I walk to a nearby cafe with a fellow GCILer and…
January 22, 2025
Blueprints and Blockbusters
The day started the way most days do, the routine GCIL run-through: breakfast, blogs, and a bus ride. But today was special since we were having our first official meetings with our Partner Organizations in the afternoons to find out how we’d be spending the next seven weeks. The stakes felt high and there seemed…
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…
Previous page Next page