A student blogs… from the field!
FROM RAIN RAIN RAIN. . . 
. . . TO SUNSHINY DAYS! 
(Transcribed from a note written by 9/13/10 Fall Semester in India student Anne Koening and given to NOLS India staff during a re-ration of their Milam Backpacking Section)
So far, our semester in India has been an exhilarating combination of beautiful Himalayan sights, long days of backpacking on challenging terrain (now affectionately referred to as the “Himalayan stair-master”), drinking chai in tiny tea stalls on trail and soaking in the local culture. Our group of fifteen students and four instructors has been continually amazed by what we’ve experienced in the one month we have been in the field.
The record rain totals India has received this season have been very evident and continue to be as we encounter landslide after landslide (both major & minor) while on trail. Luckily our days are now full of sunshine and beautiful weather.
The ten-day Pindar Backpacking Section [see this blog for more on this section] introduction to backpacking and living in the field, and set all of us up really well for the 30-day Milam Backpacking Section that we are now almost half way through.
As this blog entry is being written, we are in a tiny village about twenty kilometers from the Tibetan border. We are camping just below the local temple in Paton and happen to be joined by what sounds like a couple of hundred of sheep and their shepherds. The 30-day Milam section has been quite different from our previous section in that we have been much further from villages and the local people. While learning about off-trail route finding, map reading and other very crucial aspects of backcountry travel, we have been crossing extremely diverse terrain.
Today we are expecting our re-ration (re-supply of food) so we are spending the day in camp. We are doing laundry the best we can, planning our next section of travel and preparing our group for our entry into the Milam valley. In 16 days our group will be embarking on our home-stay section in a small village just outside of Munsiari. None of us knows exactly what to expect, but are excited to be truly immersed in the local culture and the day-to-day life. Following our home stay, the final section of the semester will be river rafting on the holy Ganges river. It seems very far away now, but time has been moving by quite quickly.
Would love to share our pictures with you (http://www.flickr.com/groups/fsi_09-13-10/). We will see you all soon and look forward to sharing more of our experience with you when we return.
Best,
Anne, Tom, Muff, Julia, Abigail, Jamie, Cameron, Bridgette, Avi, Nick, Kalen, Stephanie, Elsa, Rachel, Sarah, Prani, Cass, Robin & Rahul (and Aparna in spirit!)
