Hawaii Preparatory Academy- India- 2015

Today we were awoken by the sweet chirping and songs of birds outside and small peaks of light that flickered though the windows, casting a soft morning glow throughout mosquito netted beds. We all showered and got ready for our first day in Bangalore. We all loaded up in a van to have a mini tour of the ever expansive city. We drove through the contrasting streets of India until we reached a palace. The palace was originally the monarchs' of Bangalore summer house. We had an incredible tour of a piece of art. The palace was ornately detailed in an exquisite blend of European and Indian styles of art and architecture. We were introduced to the lifestyle of the royalty of India and were offered a small glimpse as we walked through the halls. We then took a short trip to Maddy's office were we saw wildlife and held scorpions and learned about Indian "urban" wildlife. We all had reached the threshold of hunger and went to a local restaurant to enjoy several varieties of curry and paneer and some traditional desserts. The next step of our day was surreal, at least for me. We went to a local school run by a Non-Government Organization (NGO) to work with children who were mostly the same age as ourselves. We learned about India through the eyes of children we could relate to. We learned about Makkala Jagrati and what it had offered these children. We saw that people are all the same on some level. We shared stories of how our lives had been changed, and we laughed and sang, and learned. We all were happy and that was the bond we had all formed. We finished off the day with death by chocolate and ice cream and fell asleep on the bus in the lull of chaos that is Indian Traffic.

Aloha,

Tyler