Hi everyone! This is our last week in India, it’s crazy how fast time has gone. After a month in India, we soon leave for Europe and I’m so excited! The last thing we did in India was the India ISP. For this ISP we went on small groups to different self-care centers. The centers were already chosen by Winterline and what we did was pick our top three choices. I went to a center called Redstone which is an organic and eco farm. There we learned yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda (natural medicine). Our stay there was so relaxing and restful. We barely did anything during the day, just relax and focus on ourselves. In the morning and evening we had yoga classes but this only happened the first day. The second day we did not have the evening yoga class and the days after we only took the morning class. The second to last day we learned that our yoga teacher left Redstone, without even telling us! Apparently he thought we didn’t like his class and he was very shy so he left without saying goodbye, which was quite sad actually. I enjoyed his classes and so did everyone else. They were so nice. It felt good to stretch our bodies in the morning. I felt kind of bad that he left. The last two days at Redstone we learned Ayurveda with a teacher that came in with two of his students. The teacher is a doctor who used to be a normal physician but learned about Ayurveda and so he switched his practice to Ayurveda. It was interesting learning this kind of medicine, it was like he had a solution for every symptom without actually prescribing anything, just natural habits like eating at a certain time, getting the right amount of sleep, eating the correct foods, etc.
One day we went on a short hike and had lunch there which was really nice. The view was really pretty and there was no one there, just us. The food there was so good. It was all vegetarian and I thought I was going to die because I love meat and I eat it so often but I actually didn’t miss it at all. The food was very good and filling. I would always be full. We learned how to cook some of the food they make there also. We learned how to do roti, which are like tortillas but better. We had so many of those. I’m pretty sure we had them at every meal. We also learned how to make a shampoo and detergent with plants. Also we had so much free time! During my free time I started doing a puzzle with Elise but we never finished because she decided to pick the biggest puzzle. It was 1,500 pieces and it was huge! We started doing it in a small table and had to move it do a different one because it didn’t fit. We didn’t finish it but it was a fun entertainment which was a surprise to me because I usually hate puzzles. This gap year is changing me, seriously. I’m starting to like the things I didn’t like before. I don’t know what’s happening to me. Anyway, during the free time I also did a painting with watercolors which was also surprising because I don’t like painting but water coloring was fun. It didn’t come out super great but it’s ok. So yeah, it was a fun week. It was needed, some time to relax and take care of
ourselves.
It also made me think of all the different stuff we do with Winterline. For example, one day we are camping, another day we are scuba diving, another day we are working at a hotel, then another day we are watching surgeries in an operation room, and then another day we are just relaxing at a farm. It’s amazing to be able to do all these things and learn all this. I’m so grateful to be a part of this experience. Unfortunately, Trimester 2 has officially come to an end. It was a fun couple of months. Definitely something different than I have ever experienced. It was my first time in Asia and I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait for what will come of the last trimester in Europe and Boston. I’m so excited!
Next stop: Venice, Italy
