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Usually students leave from Chicago and travel through several countries in South Asia before they reach India. Some of the countries visited include China, Tibet, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore.
The itinerary within India does justice to the diversity of the country by
traveling to cities in the North, South, East and West. Since India is the
birthplace of four world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism
- the travel program covers cities closely associated with these religions.
Some of the cities on the agenda include Calcutta, the home of the Missionaries
of Charity started by Mother Teresa; Varanasi, located on the banks of the
River Ganges - a holy city for almost 800 million Hindus residing in India,
Amritsar – the city of the Golden Temple and the holy city of the Sikhs; Dharamsala
– the home in exile of the Dalai Lama and his Tibetian Buddhist followers;
New Delhi, the capital city of the country with it’s architectural monuments
depicting styles from all ages of India’s history including the Mughal, colonial,
post-colonial and modern era; Agra, the site of the beautiful Taj Mahal; Bangalore
– India’s answer to Silicon Valley; Chennai – where Apostle St. Thomas was
martyred in 78 AD and which is also the home of India’s famous Bharatnatyam
style of dance, and Mumbai, India’s financial capital and the principal base
of the country’s thriving film industry.
HOUSING, TRAVEL AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS
Comfortable and safe housing will be provided in hotels, rented homes or apartments
and hostels. Housekeeping and catered Indian and Western style meals will also
be offered. Transportation will be arranged, as necessary, for regular program
activities.