ONE REVOLUTION CALENDAR & ITINERARY

Spring 2011:

Jan 11-14    Retreat #1 in California at the LEAPNOW campus

Jan 14-May 17    Travel in Guatemala, Uganda, and India

May 17-May 20    Retreat #3 at LEAPNOW northern CA campus

OVERVIEW:

Retreat #1: A 3-day retreat at the LEAPNOW Campus in Northern California doing basic orientation to the program, meeting your group members and leaders, and creating a healthy foundation for a traveling community. Orientation includes a cultural introduction to Central America, India and Africa, health and safety education, and basic traveling skills.

Guatemala: We ease into international travel with a flight from San Francisco to Guatemala. Our time begins with a half-day hike to an active volcano and orientation in Antigua. Then we travel overland into the Western Highlands where we’ll start three weeks of study at a Spanish language school while living with local homestay families. Afternoons during the initial three weeks are spent volunteering with social service projects. Free time is spent practicing your Spanish, visiting artisans in nearby towns, salsa dancing, short trips to areas of historical/cultural interest. Internships: You can teach in a school, work at an orphanage, work with local backstrap weavers and other artisans, lead treks in the Highlands, work with street children, do environmental and wildlife protection work, work with abused and neglected women, work at an organic coffee cooperative and assist at a medical clinic.

UGANDA: During the next phase of our adventure, we fly to the Republic of Uganda in East Africa. We start with a visit to a small rural village on the banks of the Nile river and orient ourselves to the new continent. In Uganda we base ourselves in the town of Jinja, which offers tens of local non-profits in and around the city. You will stay with a family at or near your project and participate in the daily life of Uganda. Internships: There are many opportunities to work with local schools and communities. You can teach needy and orphaned children, help with HIV education & counseling, women's rights education and microfinance projects.

Retreat #2: We will have a 4-5 days contemplative retreat in India to integrate everything you have seen, experienced, and learned so far during the journey through Latin America and Africa. Take time to reflect on your purpose, align with your intention of being of service, and prepare for your time in India.

India: For our final leg of the journey, we spend 2 - 3 days in the capital of New Delhi for an orientation, then travel by train to Varanasi to explore this ancient city and access traditional India. You'll learn about the rich Hindu culture as well as the significance of the river Ganges, and the burning ghats. During your free time you’ll be able to explore the winding stone streets around the historic temples. Varanasi is known for its art and music and when you’re not volunteering, you’ll have the opportunity to arrange take courses in areas of interest such as spirituality, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, Hindi language, local arts, etc. Internships: A broad variety of internships are available in Varanasi and nearby Sarnath. These include teaching, work with children, service to the elderly and the dying, arts apprenticeships (wood carvers, classical India musicians and dancers, jewelry-makers, drummers, vocal musicians), environmental work, work at an Ayurvedic clinic, work with people with disabilities and mental illness, work with child prostitutes and public health and HIV/AIDS awareness.

Retreat #3: Return to our northern California campus to get your feet back gently back on the ground in the U.S. This 3-day retreat will focus on reflection and mining of the trip for maximum learning, then shift to ways to maintain what you have learned, in your post-One Revolution life.

While traveling abroad, One Revolution students stay at homestays and local guesthouses, and live as the locals do. This is generally simple, but not primitive – most of the time we have a bed to sleep in and running water. Food is basic, and there are inherent challenges of culture shock, cold, heat, strange food, fellow group members, rain and bugs.

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