hello, hello

Dear friends and random internet surfers, welcome to my travel blog. I hope to indulge and stimulate your senses as you live vicariously through my exhilarating experiences. As of June 1^st I will be world bound: first stop, Mumbai. While anxiously awaiting my departure, I’ve busied myself with menial but sometimes amusing tasks for over the last few weeks. But in a little over a week I will be landing into the largest city in India with my One World Crew. We will be arriving in Mumbai late night, the best time to arrive in a multi-million Indian metropolis. At night, a slight breeze cracks the oppressive Indian heat, you actually see the pavement, and cows are not inopportunely obstructing traffic. This time around however, I will not be deceived by the seemingly tranquil Mumbai air. When morning breaks, I will be awakened by the screeching of the city. As a heard of do-goers, we will weave and wind through its millions of people, vehicles, and public animals as we make our way to the more calm city of Pune. There we will commence our three day training before starting our international service projects in Telgaon village, Beed district. I will be the Group Leader for One World India 2008 as I, along with eight very world conscious side kicks work to alleviate the social strain placed on the Dalit community, India’s scapegoat. Thanks to the One World Foundation, this very lucky group will be working with the Rural Development Centre (RDC) to empower the Dalit community so that they may battle the oppression of upper-caste people and the landlords in their villages. Please refer to the One World website for some intellectual nourishment:

The mission of the One World Foundation is to encourage young people from minority and indigenous communities to become actively engaged in the human rights and development arenas.

http://www.theoneworldfoundation.org/

RDC: Inspired by the civil rights movement of the United States, the Rural Development Centre (RDC) was established in 1985 by Mr. Eknath Awad, as a way to educate Dalit youth of their rights as members of the human community. Through education, we can mobilize the rural poor to fight for equality, as well as sensitize institutions who perceive them as subhuman.