From Brahma to Buddha, Fall 2007

The essentials: You must have your passport with visa, plane tickets, shots record, all personal medications for three months, passport photos, a way to access emergency and spending money and a money belt. For spending money, traveler’s checks are best. Girls, feminine products are harder to find than at home, especially the first month of the program. Bring a two month supply at the least. Glasses/contact wearers, contact solution, contacts and extra glasses are in the same category, so make sure you bring enough for three months! Batteries, adapters, memory cards and things of that caliber are more difficult to find at the beginning of the program as well, but do exist on our semester path. Anything else that gets left behind we can make do without! Please pack these essentials in your carry-on (liquids being the exception)! Anything that you cannot be in India without should go in your carry-on, so in the event that your airplane misplaces your luggage for a few days or weeks—you will be fine.

When we are in the mountains, it is going to be chilly! We will make sure that everyone is prepared for the Himalayan environment and locally supplement what we need—which is a lot of fun. From the state-side, please read and take seriously the following advice. You will be able to leave some of this cold-weather gear in Delhi after the Himalayan section, so will not have to lug your hiking boots around for the entire program! If you have any questions or find any of this confusing, please let us know!

1) Socks: Please bring at least 3 pairs of wool/synthetic socks, like the brand Smartwool, found at most outdoor stores such as REI or EMS. You will want to have one pair to wear at night (a heavy-weight warmer pair that stays dry) and a few mid-weight pairs to wear around during the day while hiking, etc. I would highly recommend all of the socks you bring to be of a synthetic/wool material, with a few liner/thin pairs to compliment these heavier pairs. Leave cotton at home as they give you blisters and take too long to dry!
2) Long-underwear top and bottom: Please bring a non-cotton, non-silk breathable under-layer. A polypro or wool mid-weight set would be ideal, with the bottoms being fitted enough to be worn underneath other pants. This will keep you warm even when you get wet, and you will find yourself living in these during any of the cooler days of the program!
3) Sleeping bag: If you are buying a new sleeping bag for this program or have a choice as to what bag to bring, ideally a zero degree bag that is light-weight and compressible would be the best! If you do not have a warm enough bag (even those of you with 20 degree bags may be cold once we go to the mountains), we will supplement your existing bag with blankets and/or extra rented bags from Leh. Just be aware that if you are not bringing a proper sleeping bag, you will be spending a small amount to purchase or rent additional layers and you may be carrying extra bulk!
4) Down jacket: This is self explanatory. It will keep you warm and make life, after the sun goes down, much more enjoyable! Don’t feel the need to go buy a brand-new and expensive down jacket, rather bring something that will keep you warm. Check out your local thrift shop! If you do not own a jacket of this caliber, but possibly have a different layering system you think may work, contact us and we will let you know what we think!
5) Headlamp versus flash light: The packing list states that ‘flashlights are ok,’… If you can bring or have a headlamp, this choice, along with extra batteries is ideal!! You will use it during the entire program to read at night, etc. I don’t like to read with one hand holding a flashlight…
6) Hiking Boots: It can not be said enough how important it is to bring shoes that are comfortable, that fit and that have been worn! If you have new hiking boots that you are bringing, start wearing them now!
7) Hats/gloves/sunglasses: I like to have a pair of cheap glove-liners to wear during the day if my hands are cold or if the sun is intense at higher altitudes, and then a thicker pair of gloves/mittens to wear at night when sitting around. Bring a hat that is comfortable to wear sleeping. Sunglasses should block out UV rays, as we will be trekking at high altitudes! This does not mean that they need be expensive; rather, a cheap pair with good UV protection—in a hard case—will be just fine! I get mine at a local hardware store.

In terms of toiletries and other items recommended that are hard to find while in India, please just bring enough for three months! All other toiletries you can re-supply while we are in India. Minimizing toiletries will help save much room in your pack. (Don’t feel that you must bring an enormous bottle of shampoo that will take up half your bag! People in India wash their hair and brush their teeth… You can find toothpaste and other necessities in the market.)

Gifts: It is a great idea to bring some small gifts for your home-stay families. Light-weight, non-breakable and small gifts are best. Pictures of you and/or you’re your home, postcards and small items from home are wonderful! I like to bring small calendars and local artist cards. Also, a small photo-album, or envelope of photos, to share with your homestay families and friends you make along the way is sure to be a hit! People will be delighted to see what your house, streets, family, markets and life is like! When bringing pictures, try bringing pictures that are culturally appropriate, i.e., leave pictures of you wearing a bikini on the beach at home.

Do bring a few small bottles of hand sanitizer. A few travel sized bottles, rather than one larger bottle, are more ideal for carrying around in your daypack on a daily basis.

Do bring a few gallon ziplock bags with you to pack out your trash during the treks. Also, bring a large trash bag that you can line your pack with during the trek, as well as a smaller bin-sized trash bag or two to line your daypack (in case it rains, then your things stay dry!) I also bring a few stuff-sacks and pillow cases to create ‘drawers’ within my pack; one for dirty clothes, one for shirts, etc.

Please leave all garbage/packaging/containers you do not need at home. Take batteries out of their plastic packaging and place them in a ziplock bag that you can use and then re-use while in India. Please recycle what you can, and what you will just be throwing in a trash bin during the course of the program, before we board the plane! Based on pure population size alone, we should spare India of any un-necessary trash that we are creating.

I hope this is enough food for thought! This dialogue will continue as we move on to ‘who is bringing what book, etc.,’ in the upcoming weeks! Take care and we will see you soon!

Be well,

Erin, Harrison and Tracy