Perspectives India provides an intense exploration and experiential learning opportunity focused on the rich cultural heritage of the greater Jaipur area of India.   By interweaving information and experience, what students hear in class and discussion sessions helps them understand the many experiences that are planned for them.   These extensive and varied experiences beyond the classroom will deepen their understanding of the information they are given.   Here are just some of the experiences that you can expect to have as part of Perspectives India.  

Arriving at Jaipur’s famous Amber Fort on elephant-back

Being shown around a traditional folk artists colony in a Jaipur slum by local artists, having them introduce you to their artistic traditions and skills, and giving you a chance to try them

Comparing aspirations, concerns, and pressures with fellow high school students in Jaipur

Discovering why Yoga is as much for the spirit as for the body from your morning practice of this traditional Indian exercise discipline

Discussing the definition of caste and race and how they affect contemporary India with the Indian college students who are serving as Teaching Assistants

Examining first-hand the contrast between the increasingly publicized city poverty and the much less publicized poverty of Indian villages

Learning Hindi vocabulary during your Hindi tutorial group’s visit to a traditional fruit and vegetable market

Learning how to play cricket from intensive instruction from a sports teacher, followed by a cricket match with local high school students

Interviewing executives, shopkeepers, teachers, waiters, migrant workers, and the unemployed about how India’s rapid economic growth has affected their lives

Interviewing women to find out their views on the current roles of women in India and what changes they have personally experienced

Participating in a Batik workshop, making your own batik designs, and printing something to remember your time in India

Participating in question and answer sessions with guest experts from various fields about the state of India and their view of its future

Tasting many of the different Indian cuisines and thereby gaining an understanding of the diversity of Indian cultures

Practicing your Hindi bargaining skills at a street market or ordering in a restaurant

Talking with a wide variety of Indians to learn what the “Gandhism” that inspired Dr.   Martin Luther King, Jr.   , Nelson Mandela, and even Barack Obama really means to them

Spending time at a local high school and comparing it with your own

Touring both a modern high-tech factory and a traditional low-tech work place to gain an understanding of the economic changes and an insight into India’s current growth in out-sourced technical support

Traveling by camel across the desert to visit a village outside Jaipur

Visiting different places of worship–a Hindu temple, a Jain temple, a Muslim mosque, and a Sufi shrine–to see and learn how religion is part and parcel of mundane Indian life

Visiting gypsies in their home to hear about their lives and see the traditional entertainment they perform for their livelihood