AGS India Immersion Programme 2017/18

Anon India is cool But it is very dirty Photosynthesis

Rowan Burns Can you feel the love tonight?                     The peace the evening brings.                     The world for once in perfect harmony. With all its living things. Can you find your heart's desires? It is where you are. It's Enough to make this wide-eyed-wanderer. Just being here with you. And if you feel your soul ignite. The way this place can cling. The land at ease but ridden with irony. A Christmas spent afar. This is meant to be sung aloud. Feel free to request a personal rendition.

As the JP Superfast carries us into Christmas Day, we are all thinking of the families we have waiting for us in our respective homes. We cannot wait to hear your voices today. In the meantime, we thought it would be cool to give you all a little snapshot of where we're at as we approach a very different Christmas. Nikau- Looking forward to that first phone call back home. Will- Seems strange to me that it is Christmas Eve and I feel none of the buzz I would normally feel at home surrounded by family. Instead surrounded by a different family on India's retro sleigh. Cam- Will Santa keep up with the Indian railway timetable? Missing the family at this special time, I know they'll be missing the spirit of Christmas (me). Mr Crook- Instead of a drop of brandy, a mince pie and carrot for Rudolph, Santa will be having a drop of hand sanitiser, a train samosa and a mosambi fruit tonight before heading out on his sleigh! A different ...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the train not a creature was stirring, not even a foot-long train station rat; The stockings were hung at the end of train beds with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas would soon be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of paneer tikka masala danced in their heads. In just over a couple of hours, we will wake the boys for possibly the strangest Christmas of their lives. Indeed, Christmas Eve has resembled nothing like it normally would. I must admit that at this time of the trip a little twang of homesickness hits me, as I think about family and friends back home. We can't wait to talk to you all tomorrow. But before that, here is a quick sickness update, followed by our Indian Christmas Eve. Please excuse the relatively brief summary but, to be honest, we haven't done an awful lot today, and the group has loved it: Will Pretty, Lachie Dickson, and Aaron Wyllie are la...

Raymond   If there was one place where "rules were made to be broken" it would have to be on Indian roads - it is a place where everyone is in a hurry, yet no one is on time.   A conglomeration of cars, buses, bicycles, tuk-tuks and pedestrians (footpaths have been occupied by peoples' homes and stores) congest the pothole riddled roads, taking the concept of "every man for themselves" to the next level. Absolute pandemonium ensues as each vehicle fights for every available space on the road. Drivers blatantly ignore and violate probably every known traffic rule. There is a ubiquitous sense of disorder as even the police struggle to govern the traffic. Obsessively using the horn is a rite of passage, even in the most unnecessary of circumstances. Indicating is a foreign concept as well as giving way; perhaps even driving on the correct side of the road is yet to be introduced to some in this country. Road lanes are simply arbitrary l...

Roni Chapman A local legend started by Will Pretty states that If you stare into a mirror and repeat "I am a mental fortress" 5 times, you will be protected from any sickness by a higher power. It is believed that the origin of the the following came at the time of the 'Fall of Kolkata' a.k.a the "Fall of the 11", where hope was drained from The Untouched half of The A.G.S India Pilgrims who sat beyond the walls of room 401; the morgue. While it is rumoured that former pilgrim, and current staff member Tom Rapson was the true founder of the following, the modern practices inspired by Will have appointed him to this title.  While Aaron Wyllie and I weren't necessarily going to join the cult following (from the likes of Lachie, Boswell, Josh H, and Ollie) to His teachings, we were certainly close followers. As with any religion we differed on our interpretations of The Teachings; such as whether you are able to be protected by...

Josh Hamilton The room - it is barely 2 meters wide and is approx. 2.2m high (simply perfect). Two lights stick out of the multi-functional roof providing a nice dim beam down to the bunks below. The ceiling, in certain cabins, has A.C. and can rarely have an extra dangling green fan - striking fear into us all. We are very fortunate to be in one of these cabins. There are 2 antique square A.C. vents loosely screwed into the limited space of the roof above - the vents do look like they could fall apart at any moment, but they work!  Below there are 6 bunks - each are 1.7m long (with Tom and Leo the only two not hanging off the end), roughly 60cm wide (everyone comfortably fitting), and containing 80cm of head space to adjust in (no problems there). The top bunks hang from short rusted poles, hidden away by a thick blue piece of fabric, which are firmly positioned into the ceiling with some hefty and practical 15mm bolts.  The beds - these ...

Callan It's strange being in a place where Christmas matters so little, when I've been brought up to see it as the ultimate time for coming together as a family to celebrate and give. While I've grown out of the giddy excitement that accompanies Christmas as a child, and I certainly won't be waking up at 4am in anticipation of opening presents, I've realised that there is a certain comfort in all of the gaudy Christmas decorations that line the streets, the same old Christmas carols that play in the background, and the eager countdown to the 25th. All the little things that contribute to the Christmas spirit.  I very rarely celebrate Christmas in my own home, but to be away from family is tough. Without that sense of togetherness and a wholesome Christmas meal, I fear that 2017 may feel unresolved, missing that familiar conclusion. On the other hand, maybe a departure from the usual festivities will create an everlasting memory of the C...