And They're Off!!!

I just got back from the airport where the kids and Chris Hawk successfully checked in, got their boarding passes and heading for the starting gate! They all seemed very excited/nervous/and happy. I have to say I was more than a little jealous and sad I'm not going with them! I know this is going to be an amazing trip. After some work (good job Alissa!) it seems Cameron will meet up with them safely in Seattle, and Brittany Hopkins in Paris.

I will update this blog whenever I hear from them, and will send an email to you all as I receive daily updates.

Thank you everyone for all your patience, hard work, positive thoughts, resources and energy to make this trip happen! It is going to be a phenomenal and important experience for everyone involved. -Zina

We're making tracks...

Hi Everyone,

This is Brittany Hopkins writing. I've am thrilled to be a part of this trip as the female chaperone from Wasatch Academy. While I don't know everything about what we will be doing once we get to India, I thought I might share our itinerary given to us by Karna Puri- the coordinator from the Welham Boys School in India.

Day 0- Leave for India

Day 1- Arrive in New Delhi at 11:10 PM

Day 2- Take an overnight train to Dehradun (where we meet up with the students of the Welham Boys School)

Day 3- Take a train towards the village

Day 4- Travel by road to the Village of Sumgarh (I'm thinking "by road" means a bus)

Day 5- Begin work on the project (helping to build a school that was demolished by mudslides)

Day 6- Project

Day 7- Project

Day 8- Walkabout to Dhakur (view of Himalayan Peaks)

Day 9- Return to Sumgarh

Day 10- Project

Day 11- Project

Day 12- Project

Day 13- Bus to Naini Tal

Day 14- Bus to Corbett Tiger Reserve

Day 15- Elephant/Jeep Safai (followed by overnight train to Delhi)

Day 16- Delhi

Day 17- 1:45 AM fly back to the states

Day 17 round two- We land in Utah around 4 PM

Above are the maps of where we will be going. While I wasn't able to locate a dot with the words "Sumgarh Village" on a map, I was able to find out the coordinates.

Hopefully we will be able to upload images from India so check back soon!

T-Minus two weeks!

Hello all! In less than two weeks our intrepid little Tigers will be flying over the big pond on a grand adventure. This blog is going to be used by students, teachers, and me (Zina) to update what they are experiencing for all you parents and friends to look in on. At this point I can't make any promises about how detailed blog posts may be as we do not know yet if there is any internet access in the Sumgarh village. However, there will be daily contact between the trip leader and myself so there will at minimum be a daily update about the safety of the group. Also, this blog may be used after they are home for reporting of the trip, sharing of pictures and processing.
-Zina