Okay, so as many of you know (or not), just after school was out (song in my head: School's Out for the Summer!) I started work on the Youth Programs for World Learning. The World Learning International Youth Exchange Program (WLIYEP) is headquartered in the SIT Graduate Institute campus in Brattleboro, VT. The Graduate Institute shares youth programming responsibilities with the World Learning office in Washington DC. However, the summer programs are mostly implemented in the beautiful green hills and quiet rivers of Brattleboro. WLIYEP are focused on delivering quality peacebuilding and leadership programs to high school aged teens from around the world. The key program components include dialogue groups, global issues groups/workshops, leadership and activism skills workshops, arts classes (theater, dance, visual, literary, etc.), and off-campus outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, scavenger hunts, leadership activities, and other fun, camp-like activities. I had an excellent experience with it especially since I got to travel to Turkey for the job.
My role(s) with the youth programs included designing and delivering classes in Social Justice, Peacebuilding, and the Arts as well as workshops in activism and leadership skills building, global issues workshops, and dance and theater classes. I also provided support to staff in multiple ways: running errands, searching for missing students, helping prepare for and co-facilitating classes and workshops. I also slept in the dorms with the young people and made sure that they were provided for and taken care of. I was like a parent figure to many of the students. My shoulders have been dampened with many a tears and the music of laughter and the sights of bright smiles and curious eyes were ever present throughout the programs.
After the US portion of the Iraq Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) was done we (4 other facilitators and me) flew back to Istanbul, Turkey to take the young people back. Istanbul is the gateway city for the young people coming to and from Iraq to the US. From here, the students flew to either Baghdad or Erbil to go home. Let me tell you, this is probably the most emotionally taxing part of the program. (I can't even think about it now because I still well up and miss those kids incredibly much.) Leaving those kids at the airport and saying goodbye was torturous. The goodbyes start the last day of the US part of the program because the Iraqis have to say goodbye to the American participants. There's a candle lighting ceremony the night before we leave and just about everyone sheds tears. The love and peaceful energy is incredible. Anyway, so back at the airport in Istanbul when leaving the young people, it was difficult, to say the least. The five of us were filled with emotion that did not stop until we got back to our hotel, by taxi, a half hour later.
The summer youth programs were finally done: 8 programs, approximately 300 participants, 42 staff, about 800 hours (8 weeks), 6 flights (domestic and international), 1 trip to Cedar Point Amusement Park, 1 car accident (I'm okay; the students are okay), a plethora of classes, workshops, open mic nights [and cream pies in my face (ask me later)], dorm and room checks, morning wake ups, passport and visa checks, head counts, airport runs, emergency runs to doctors/hospitals, hikes, river swims, canoe/kayaking trips, ice cream excursions, and everything else that makes a summer program operate... I stuck a fork in it on August 24th, 2011, we were DONE...Whew!!!
Because we had the awesome opportunity to travel to Istanbul on program, World Learning allows that our return trip to the US be from anywhere in the world at any time, as long as the pricing is within budget. So, as many traveling staff has done in the past, we traveled around for a bit. I took the opportunity and booked my return trip from Bangalore, India on January 22, 2012. This meant that I had the freedom to travel around Eastern and Central Europe before heading to India for my practicum.
After about a day and a half in Istanbul, I flew to Macedonia to meet my friends Florian (aka Flo), Kirstin, and Lisa. We traveled within Macedonia and then to Albania together. In Macedonia we stayed in Skopje and Struga and had a day trip to Ohrid. One of my favorite memories of this part of the trip was lying out on a paddleboat in the middle of Lake Ohrid. The most spectacular mountains surrounded us. The water of the lake was crystal clear. We just sat and talked and swam and read books. This was exactly what I needed after the crazy 8 weeks of youth programs.
After staying in Struga for a couple of days, we road tripped to Vlora, Albania. The first thing we did when we arrived was have a seafood lunch with Florian’s father on one of the most beautiful beaches on the Adriatic Sea (jealous yet?!). We stayed in Vlora for a few days, taking day trips to Dhermi, Sarande, and Butrint. Butrint is a tiny city on the border of Albania and Greece. There is a lot of Greek influence in Sarande and Butrint, as well as political and cultural conflict between the two countries. Culturally, Greece doesn't want to let go of Butrint and the southern regions of Albania, even though Albania's independence from the Ottoman Empire occurred in 1912. Dhermi is another beach city on the Adriatic coast. Wow, this beach was also spectacular. One of my favorite moments was swimming out to sea from a pebble beach and turning around and being shocked by the view of the mountains. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. Oh yeah, and we also slept on the beach that night, under the stars. I saw 2 shooting stars. That was amazing!
After about a week or so, Kirstin and Flo left for home and Lisa and I stayed in Tirana, Albania. Lisa was leaving the day after Kirstin, so her and I had a day and a night together in Tirana. We met some folks at Hostel Milingona. This was my first time staying in a hostel. It was a pretty great little place owned and operated by 3 sisters. This was when I started to meet really cool, civic-minded, interesting travelers from all over the world. Lisa and I met this really cool guy named Bleddy. He asked us if we wanted to go to a club for a drink. So, Bleddy, Lisa, Tej (a guy staying at the hostel from The Netherlands), and I went to this cool open-air club and had a few drinks. There, we met Bleddy’s cousin, Gerta. She is a party promoter for the club. The five of us had an excellent time together. When we were done at the club, Bleddy and Gerta walked Lisa, Tej, and I back to the hostel. Another interesting moment was while I stayed at Hostel Milingona in Tirana, I met a guy whose mom works for the World Learning office in Tirana, Albania. Small world, huh?
While I stayed in Tirana, I waited to meet up with one of my friends and colleagues from the youth programs we just worked together. His name is Shane. We traveled around Eastern Europe together stopping in Montenegro, 3 cities in Croatia (Dubrovnic, Split/Hvar, and Zagreb), and finally parting in Vienna, Austria. The Croatian coast is absolutely stunning. The beaches and the boys are beautiful! We visited a few ruins in each of the cities. Split has the Diocletian Palace. The Roman Emperor Diocletian built the palace at the turn of the 4th century AD. In Dubrovnik and Budva, Montenegro there are old town called Stari Grad. (Stari Grad translated from Serbo-Croatian means old town.) They are some of the oldest towns in Europe. In Budva, the guys at the hostel said if we wanted to go to the beach, we should definitely go to the one on the other side of the “cave”. Shane and I thought that sounded like it could be fun and cool, so we went. It wasn’t really a cave, but more of a short passageway cut out through the rock that connected two beaches. The guys were right, though. The second beach, on the other side of the “cave” was nicer, but it was also packed. There was barely any room for Shane and I to settle our stuff. The beach was beautiful and it had lots of eye candy. Again, the water was a beautiful crystal clear blue. The Stari Grad in Dubrovnik was very similar to that of Budva’s. One funny thing about Dubrovnik was I booked a place to stay much farther from the city center than I had expected. Also, apparently, Dubrovnik is the city of stairs. In order for us to get to our hotel from the commercial area we had to climb a shit ton of steps. It was frustrating the first night we arrived because we had all of our luggage. I had at least a 60 lbs backpack. Suffice to say it was not fun. We were both exhausted at the end of that day.
Something I’ve failed to mention were the bus rides between each city. The roads went through the mountains. Some of the vistas were breathtakingly gorgeous. Also, I met one of my favorite people, on this entire trip, on one of the first buses we boarded. Her name is Debra (but it sounded much cooler with her Israeli accent). She was the most spirited, energetic person. She was at least in her mid to late 50’s. (At least she looked it.) She was so wonderful to talk to. Her eyes and face had such wisdom. Her demeanor was very warm, easy, welcoming, funny, and just special. One of my favorite memories with her was when we were riding up in the mountains from Ulcinj to Budva, the sun was setting over the Adriatic Sea. I started to search for my camera in my daypack. While I was searching, Debra asked me what I was doing. I told her I was looking for my camera to take a picture of the sunset. She turns to me, grabs my arm, and says, “Why don’t you just paint it?” It was such a special moment, not because it was funny; obviously I can’t paint it considering I didn’t have an easel, canvas, and paints at my simple disposal. It was special because it was such an honest and nonchalant thing to say for her. I wouldn’t have thought of painting the moment, but the words came out of her mouth with such facility. I loved meeting this woman. She is someone I will not forget for a long time.
After traveling through Croatia and kicking it in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, Shane and I made our way up to Vienna, Austria via train stopping in Slovenia. In Vienna, I stayed with a friend I made in the hostel in Tirana. His name is Georg. He and his girlfriend, Miriam, were in Tirana also backpacking. We were talking about my travels, telling him that I planned to stop in Budapest. He asked if I was going to Vienna. I didn't realize how close Vienna was to Budapest. I was a leaf in the wind on this trip and made a plan to see him in Vienna for a couple of days by his invitation. He was a doll for allowing me to couch surf in his very cool apartment for the two days.
After Vienna, I finally made it to Budapest, Hungary. Wow, what a city! I think Budapest was my favorite thus far. It has a thriving theater arts culture as well as a decent gay community. The buildings, monuments, and memorials in both Vienna and Budapest are gorgeous. One of my favorite experiences in both cities was walking down a regular little street, either trying to get to a certain destination, I would turn a corner and there would be a giant, beautiful structure, be it a basilica or museum or something that came out of nowhere. These experiences were startling. In Budapest, on my way to the Buda side of the river to meet my friend Zoltan in the evening, I cross a beautifully lit bridge (the Chain Bridge) and off to my side, unexpectedly was a castle and the Parliament. It was an incredible sight for sore eyes. According to the cab driver, they recently changed the evening lighting the warmer colors that it currently is. I remember welling up with tears at such a magical sight. I was lucky in Budapest, to have a network of friends. My friend Gyorg, a Hungarian working on his PhD in Iowa, put a message out to his contacts in Budapest for me to meet up with and maybe help me find lodging accommodations. A friend of Gyorg, Viktoria, told me about a friend of her's, Peter, who has an apartment just across the street from the Budapest Opera House... That's right, THE BUDAPEST OPERA HOUSE folks... Peter offered a vacant room in his apartment for me to stay. It was another match made in heaven. Peter is a wonderful guy, a civil engineer in Budapest. He spoke English better than I did and he loves to dance!!! It was perfect. My first night in Budapest, Peter and I went Salsa dancing. Apparently, there is an awesome Salsa scene in Budapest. Peter also took me to a Lindy Hop class later on in the week.
Georg Layr, the guy that I stayed with in Vienna, virtually introduced me to a friend of his that he met in Ramallah, Palestine that is performance artist and activist from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Her name is Rozina and she lives and is working on her graduate degree in Budapest. This seemed like a destined connection, her and I. So, I finally met up with her while I was in Budapest. Actually, I met her and some of her other friends that she goes to uni with. (Uni is short for university.) We sat, had a few beers, and talked about activism, performance art, and politics. We also talked about mundane everyday stuff as well. She is a wonderful person as were her friends. They were all funny, smart, and engaged in the world.
After about 6 days in Budapest, I made my way over to Istanbul to end my amazing journey through Eastern and Central Europe. Istanbul is where it all started and where it ended for this time. I did spend some time in Istanbul. The first two times, the youth program facilitators and I were there on program. We had a day or so to ourselves before we met the Iraqi students. So, we went to the beach on one of the islands in the Bospherous. We also visited the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was probably one of the most visually stunning and spiritually remarkable places I have ever seen. We visited the Blue Mosque with the Iraqi students. In order to enter the mosque, all women, no matter what faith, had to cover their hair and shoulders (if they were exposed). Also, everyone must take off his or her footwear upon entering any mosque. My favorite moment here was first being startled at the beauty of the mosaics, the stained glass, and the artistic design of the inner walls of the building. That mixed with watching my students pray made me burst with emotion. I couldn’t help think about how incredibly marginalized and ostracized Muslim people are. The Muslim people and culture is probably one of the most peaceful cultures I have ever witnessed. It is only because of 9/11 do ignorant, uneducated people have such xenophobia towards Muslim people. Watching them pray and being inside one of the most beautiful things in the world gave me a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
The third time I was in Istanbul for only a day before my trip to India, I took the opportunity of going to the Aya Sofia and the Basilica Cistern. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to these places while we were on program. However, I took advantage of being alone this time and went. I bought myself a very cool, Turkish style shirt and went to the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum and made my way to the Aya and the Basilica. Whoa, these are sights that for anyone who ever goes to Istanbul must see. The Aya Sofia was a church from the 4th century, converted to a mosque in 1453, then turned into a museum in the 1930's. It is yet another ginormous edifice that sticks up out of nowhere. You could see it from many rooftops throughout the city. The mosaics are gorgeous and the space is just spectacular. The Basilica Cistern was an underground space where gardens and markets took place during the 6th century. It is partially submerged in water (hence cistern). It has rows and rows of 6th century columns. According to Wikipedia, it took 7,000 slaves to build. Lastly, I met some pretty cool people from Spain and Slovakia. The one final night I had in Istanbul, we had dinner together. We had a wonderful time.
On Thursday, September 22nd, 2011, my trip around Eastern and Central Europe ended with a flight to India via Dubai. I had a 16 hour layover in Dubai. Of course I got me a visa (I researched the need for one by an American beforehand), left the airport, and went to downtown Dubai. I saw and took pictures of the now tallest building in the world, The Burj Dubai, and stayed in pretty much the entire time, the largest mall I have ever witnessed. Not only did the mall have a waterfall and more shopping than anyone ever needs, but it also had a multiplex cinema, an amusement part, a water park, and an aquarium. It was incredible and incredibly bourgie (derivative of bourgeois). The luxury stores and expensive restaurants in this mall just made me want to vomit. It was either this or stay in the airport with no wifi for 16 hours. One of my favorite moments in Dubai was when I stepped out of the mall to see The Burj Dubai (the mall and The Burj are right next to each other), I hadn’t realized how hot it was in Dubai. So, of course, in Cabbie fashion, I say, “GOD DAMN ITS HOT!” out loud. Loud enough for a local man to respond, “Welcome to Dubai, sir!” We both smiled and laughed with each other.
Finally, from Dubai, I made my way over to Bangalore. And here I am, internshipping (I know its not a word) at Bapagrama Educational Center.
Currently Bapagrama serves approximately 400 multi-gendered students (70% of the students and 50% of the teachers are from “scheduled castes[1]) under an educational model inspired by Gandhian principles; it is coeducational, anti-caste, and secular. The school is accredited by the state of Karnataka. It is partially funded by the state and mostly supported by donations, community activists, and visitors from around India and the World. The school is free to the students.
I chose to work at Bapagrama to observe a non-western educational organization. I’m interested in youth programming so I wanted to compare youth education initiatives in the US to a non-western country. Bapagrama and India fit the bill. India is culturally very different than anything I know; I wanted to challenge myself by living in such a culture. I’ve lived in the US my entire life, traveling to and living in Colombia sporadically throughout. This was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. Can I live and survive in a culture that’s not my own? Yes, I traveled to Tanzania for 2 months in 2008, but it was with a volunteer organization based out of New Rochelle, NY. The environment was controlled, so I did not have to figure things out on my own. Language classes were given to us, housing was provided, and I lived with and socialized with 38 other American, British, and Australian folks who were 95% white and very socially western. It was an incredible experience. But coming to India is different for me. The only thing that was setup was the living accommodations and the practicum (sort of). I wanted a new cultural challenge. Well, here I go.
In addition to developing a different skill set at Bapagrama, I also wanted to add different theater art forms to my metaphorical bag of performance genres. I’m excited to investigate theater and dance in India and how it relates to my dance and my art. Also, I hope to explore how politics, social action and the arts function together (or not) in India. 
