AGS India Immersion Programme 2017/18

We are in Darjeeling! And thank the gods for that! Blue sky, clean air, we can see the sun - life couldn't be better. It is a bit on the chilly side and we are all wrapped up in our icebreakers but that is just reminding us of home. None of us have ever been here and that makes this leg of the tour particularly exciting with a couple of big days planned for our time in the Himalayas. Speaking of exciting, we want to wish a big Himalayan happy birthday to Nick Lindberg (Sam and Ollie's cousin) today. Hope you had a ripper day mate. We hope you are enjoying the honesty and candour of the blog thus far. Expect more blogs and emails to be coming your way from the boys over the next couple of days as we anticipate more downtime after a hectic week in Kolkata. In the meantime, you'll have to put up with my version of events: Monday 11 December Sickness Update - All appear to be well recovered (or is it just the Imodium they took for the train journey?) exc...

Cam Macfarlane   Right now, a group of young men sit in a train station, in the midst of homeless people and beggars, civilians of Kolkata ready to board, and various store owners. I think these people of different lifestyles and upbringings somewhat highlight the seemingly uneven distribution of wealth and luck that we have seen during our time in Kolkata. Now sitting with my thoughts to myself, and over an hour to smash out a blog I will reflect on the variational circumstances Kolkata has showed us. In our group debrief sessions some people have been attempting to answer what I consider an impossible task; to define this wonderful city as genuinely happy, or happy to just see foreigners. Defining a society as happy or not is an unachievable task I believe, for that reason I will acknowledge both the good and the bad that I have seen. The negatives, being the source of the only discomfort I have felt so far on this trip, are frankly...

Callan Adams It seems like an age ago that this group of 22 young Kiwis were hurtling through the streets of Kolkata for the first time, awestruck by its incredible, novel and all together crazy sights, sounds and smells. Over the last 5 days, I have been amazed at how the group has come together to support one another through the brutal poverty and injustice that we have seen, but at the same time, each of our responses to such challenges have been very individual.  Kolkata is confusing, and I can't hope to encapsulate it in any number of blogs. What stood out for me, however, is the vibrancy and verve of its people, in front of a backdrop which is often confronting, decrepit, even revolting. I think that the Brooklyn slum we visited yesterday captured this beautifully - young children giddily chasing us around a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Some boys felt guilty, others highlighted the injustice of the situation, but I was left unresolved, wit...

Rowan Burns Hey Mum, I've been feeling better for awhile but haven't been able to eat much. We just caught a long train to Darjeeling, but now we are here and it is beautiful. And you know I don't throw that word around. This place completely reminds me of the Inca Trail, and has kindled an interest to walk the Ana Puna Circuit. I talked to Mr Jordan about it today in the car ride up the mountain from the train station. Then tonight, as the sun set, I was sitting on the roof of Darjeeling, as the haze created this amazing 360 degree rainbow sunset over the Himalayas. Kolkata was an extremely complicated place and I just felt sad there.  Here, on the other hand, I feel free and a little at home.  I honestly think this place is a hidden nugget of India, worthy of coming to visit if you ever wanted to come back to India. I could even show you around :-) There is no doubt this place...

Aaron In all honesty Kolkata was a dump. Rubbish was piled high everywhere, the air was thick with smoke, the pungent smell of urine and faeces lingered on every street corner, we never saw the sun, poverty and beggars were the norm, there was never a moment of peace, and almost constant rain over the last two days only added to the apparent misery. Contrary to what you might expect however, the people here do not reflect the darkness of the harrowing reality they live in. The people are the light. It has not been the rickshaw rides, food nor sights seen so far, but the interactions and conversations with the people of Kolkata that have been the highlights of the trip to date. Whether it be yarning for hours with some of the Jungle Crows of similar age, being approached by a stranger in the street wanting to know your life's story, or playing with the crazy and energetic kids from Future Hope, such as Asif and Laxman. They are all so positive, enthusiastic, friendly and...

Matt India is frustrating. That's pretty well known. Late trains, incompetent taxi drivers, food poisoning and not being able to understand Hindi are all frustrations made obvious to us before wed embarked on this trip. But as I spend more time in this vibrant country, assimilating into a new half-Indian, half-tourist lifestyle and routine I feel I'm starting to get used to these daily frustrations that appear at the surface of the deep ocean that is India. As I descend further into this culture I am discovering new frustrations. Let's start with the small stuff I have begun to notice. When I was sick and lying in bed for hours on end I would continually hear the song of the elevator moving. It was a short high pitched piano tune which might have been nice the first, second and third times but after hearing it what seems like thousands of times I hate the tune. Whenever I might whistle now all I can whistle is that damn song and that frustrates me. Anoth...