2025 Student Blog
January 20, 2025
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…
Student Life in Bengaluru
Yesterday was a day that felt most similar to a typical day at a university. We arrived at BMS and I was wearing my school backpack just like I would at UW. Being our third time at BMS, It felt almost natural stepping off the auto and through the front gates, especially with our cool…
Just a Crazy Day
Yesterday started like any other here at GCIL. Woke up at the early hour ready for the new adventures that have welcomed me to GCIL since I arrived. The planned adventure was to go to a temple and see some monkeys. But my body was not willing to allow me to experience the pickpocketing monkeys….
January 15, 2025
Burning the Old, Sketching the New: Sankranti, Cubbon Park, and Curious Connections
A week and a half into GCIL we finally had a free day, on occasion of it being festival day in Bengaluru. Sankranti is a harvest festival marking the sun’s movement from south to north, dedicated to the solar deity, Surya. The night before we went to a lovely celebration of the holiday at the…
January 13, 2025
Becoming Weavers
Eager to stretch our legs after the morning’s movie screening and a welcome pizza lunch, a few of us opt to walk to our next destination. We pick our way through the crowds of MG Road until the bustling fades and we turn onto a quiet side street. It is not the destination I was…
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