July 5, 2018

After breakfast and cleanup, we introduced a new morning ritual of mindfulness. We had everyone sit in a circle, close their eyes, breathe and set their intentions for the day. We also asked that they create a mantra of three things they are working towards and, to remind themselves throughout the day that they are those positive things. We continued our community service, working in the classrooms and, laying cement inside the kitchen walls. Then, we left early to get back to the haveli to shower and change into our local attire for the wedding ceremony. Neerav went to the market during this time and grabbed a variety of sarees for the students to choose from as a wedding gift for each of the two brides. After deciding on sarees, the students made cards for each bride and we walked over to the ceremony.

We watched the grooms come in on horseback, surrounded by friends and family, each entered the home of his future wife for the first time. We had some chai at the neighbor’s house as Neerav explained the foundation of Indian weddings and caste systems. We waited for the chaos to dissipate before entering into the house to see the next part of the ceremony. We all went into the house to see the new brides and grooms sitting side by side with two fires in the middle and a Brahmin uniting them in holy matrimony. It was absolutely incredible to see the deep and special ceremony of an Indian wedding in a rural village. The students were super excited and grateful to have had the opportunity. After the ceremony, we headed back to have lunch and then, we separated for independent projects. We gave the students free time to relax after the last few days of constant moving. We reunited for sunset yoga on the roof before dinner. After dinner, we met up in the community area to have discussions and play games.

July 6, 2018

We had breakfast in Kotri before loading the group into two taxis to head to Kumbhalgarh, a two-hour drive away. We arrived to the fort and all walked up to the top together before giving a history lesson and letting the students split into smaller groups to explore the site. We met back up and went as a group to a neighboring Jain Temple on the property. It was their first temple experience so far, though it was more historic and there was no signs of current practice there.

We got back into the taxis to head to the nearby Aodhi Resort where we were lucky to have been invited by the Princess of Udaipur to have lunch at her establishment. We were greeted with sweet drinks and having flower petals dropped on us. As we entered the resort, we were taken immediately to two hotel rooms set aside for us to freshen up and get ready for lunch. The resort was unbelievably gorgeous and the students were blown away by the resort and hospitality. We all sat down to lunch in the restaurant and each student ordered their own food and drink, as well as a few appetizers to share. Via, the Princess, came and introduced herself, sitting at the head of the table, getting acquainted with us for a bit. We began asking her some questions and had conversations with her about her recent schooling and new employment ventures (including the resort and the haveli in Kotri). She was very sweet, down to earth and easy to talk to, which made the students feel less intimidated. She invited us to make use of the facilities, so after lunch and a conversation at the coffee house, the students changed and went swimming in the pool. Everyone had a lot of fun. We all changed and cleaned up again before an afternoon volleyball match down in the bottom courtyard. Our student, Isabel, plays competitively at home, so she got everyone excited about playing her favorite sport. Everyone participated and had a great time. We said our thank yous and goodbyes to Via and her staff and got back in the jeeps for the ride back to Kotri.

July 7, 2018

We woke up at and had breakfast in Kotri. We headed off to continue our community service at the local school. We laid bricks and built a wall to close in the old kitchen porch. We also spent half of the time working with the children in the classrooms, teaching them English. We came back to the haveli, rested, and showered after a day of hard work. Lokendra, the land lord of the haveli stopped by to say a quick hello. We had lunch and began to get ready for our independent projects. Half of the group went to tailoring, while the other half went to embroidery. At tailoring, the students played with the son of Vimla Ji (the tailor). Along with her mother in law and her friends, the local village women braided the students’ hair. Some of the students finished their traditional Rajasthani outfits and at embroidery, some finished their chunnies (scarves). The independent projects’ block ended and then we retired to chai, cookies and rest until dinner.

July 8, 2018

There was no school, but Grace, Ava F. and Wavy went to the school to water down the construction site. While that was happening, the rest of us hung out in the haveli. Loku (the owner of the Haveli and Via´s father) and Via (the Princess of Udaipur) came for lunch. We talked to them for about an hour about their family and Kotri. Afterwards, we had a lunch of rice and curry. Following lunch, we left for a pottery class outside of Kotri to learn from local artisans. Everyone took turns at the wheel making various pots and cups. Everyone had an amazing time. We all got back into the cars and ventured back to the haveli. In the early evening, we had a group meeting where we worked on our mindfulness by talking about a, ¨reset button¨. We all wrote down something negative we felt and then, together, we destroyed the papers, allowing us to reset our intentions for the rest of our trip together. We also all wrote something positive about our experience thus far to bring with us into the future as we continue to work together and bond over the next couple of weeks. The group shared those positive thoughts with each other. We had dinner and spent the night playing cards and hanging out in the common area before bed.

-Lauren & Neerav