Sangam

A friend of mine came to visit, a lifelong Girl Scout, and we took the opportunity to visit one of the international Girl Guide/Girl Scout centers, which is located in Pune in southern India. On a whirlwind, one-day trip, we flew down to Pune and met with some of the women who volunteer at the center.

The center is located smack dab in the middle of three different communities of various backgrounds, but it is an island of serenity. The grounds are beautiful, with lovely gardens and a pool, and many of their programs focus on volunteerism. They even offer space for local schools to rent in order to learn about camping and tell their own stories around the campfire.

Though I didn't get to see much more of Pune, it was wonderful to see a place where women from quite literally around the world work together towards mutual goals-- I saw signs from women from Bangladesh, other places in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and many other countries. Women from at least four or five were volunteering while I was there. Highly recommend getting there if you have any tie to Girl Scouting!

Rhinos, elephants, and monkeys. . . oh my!

Where you start your elephant safari from.

Baby elephant came to say hi!

Riding through the elephant grass.

Watching the rhino cross the road.

The view of where the Diphlu River meets the Brahmapatra in the third section of the park.

Monkeys!

Three friends and I went to Kaziranga for a weekend and got to experience one of the coolest vacations I've ever had. Kaziranga is one of the national parks in India located in the northeast, in a state called Assam. It serves as a preserve for one horned rhinos and tigers. Sadly, though we saw many rhinos, there were no tigers.

The trip started with an elephant ride early in the morning (where baby said hi to us all!) followed by a jeep safari through the Central Range. We saw more than fifteen different kinds of birds, some rhinos, some wild elephants, two different kinds of deer, water buffalo, and some monkeys.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Western Range, which is home to more rhinos than the other areas. This is where we got to see a rhino cross the road-- just a few feet from our jeep! The final stop was in the newly opened part of the park, which is better known for its scenery and the opportunity to see three different kinds of monkeys-- which we did! All in all, an incredible adventure.

Christmas in Kolkata

This year I spent Christmas in Kolkata. While sad about not seeing my family, two friends and I had a wonderful time seeing the lights on Park Street and the decorations around town. There were some that I found particularly entertaining. From the creepy Santa in front of the Forum Mall to the tree that looks like Spiderman is crawling up it (he's actually attached to the building right behind it), I loved to see some of the interpretations of traditional holiday decor and the truly stunning lights along the main drag in town, Park Street. I hope you enjoy this taste of Christmas from Kolkata!