In three years of leading programs in Ladakh, I have yet to see a snow leopard - keeps things exciting! Maybe we'll get the chance to see some evidence of one this fall while we're trekking.

Hope packing is going well for everyone - be in touch if you have any questions as we get closer to departure time. Also, keep checking back here on the blog as valuable information will be shared in the coming days that will help you start thinking more about what our time together will be like.

Tracy

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Best,
Aaron

We've collected a list of some highly recommended books and movies which might help you better prepare for your experiences in India. While we do recommend a visit to your local library (for the movies too!) to pick some of these up, we also have a small library stored in Delhi with many of the same titles listed below and much more. There is certainly more out there, so let us know what you fine.

Feel free to comment on this entry and let us all know what you've watched/read/enjoyed already!

History:

Mahatma Gandhi, (Louis Fischer, ed.) The Essential Gandhi, Vintage, 1962.

Avedon, John. In Exile From the Land of Snows, NY: A Knopf, 1984
This excellent book as it offers a clear and concise background on Tibetan culture, and details the events surrounding the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese.

Tenzin Gyatso, H. H. the Dalai Lama. My Land and My People. NY: Potala, 1983
This is an autobiographical account of the history of modern Tibet, told by His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the XIVth Dalai Lama. We also recommend any other publication by His Holiness such as Ethics for a New Millennium , The Art of Happiness and The World of Tibetan Buddhism.

We provide each participant with the basic CORE coverage. If you wish to upgrade or select additional policies provided by CORE (such as lost luggage insurance or increased protection) please see the attached document, which can be found at the end of this post. If you have questions about upgrading, please contact the CORE administrator, Fiona Lally. Her contact information is available in the attached document, as well.

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Michelle

Below is information about how to get from your domestic flight into the New York City area to Cross Roads Camp and Retreat Center, the site of our Pre-Travel Orientation starting on September 12. We're aiming to have all of you meet up to catch the same train from Newark Penn Station. I strongly suggest (if you haven't booked your domestic flight yet) to fly into Newark (EWR) as transferring from there would be easiest. Second easiest would be Kennedy (JFK) and third LaGuardia (LGA). Please book your flights in the morning so you can meet at the Newark Penn Station train station to catch the 3 pm train to High Bridge, NJ (on the Raritan Valley Line).

Please let us know how you are getting to the retreat center on Friday September 12. You can email Tracy at tracy@global-lab.org with that information as soon as you know it.

For those of you who would like to drive to the center directly, please follow the directions from the retreat center's website.

If you're flying into Newark, make your way to Newark Penn Station where you will catch your train out to High Bridge, NJ on the Raritan Valley Line. You can purchase your ticket at Newark Liberty Airport, hop on the AirTrain, and arrive at Newark Penn Station to catch your train to High Bridge, NJ (the last stop). The train departs Newark Penn Station at 3:06 pm and arrives at High Bridge at 4:27 pm. A Global LAB staff member will meet you at the High Bridge station and help you transfer to the retreat center.

If you're flying in to JFK, you need to catch the A Express subway train from the airport to New York Penn Station where you will purchase your train ticket for High Bridge, NJ on the Raritan Valley Line. You'll want to catch the 2:32 pm Northeast Corridor (NEC) Line train to Newark Penn Station. There, you will switch lines and take the 3:06 pm train to High Bridge which arrives at 4:27 pm. A Global LAB staff member will meet you at the High Bridge station and help you transfer to the retreat center.

If you're flying in to LaGuardia, you can take a fairly short cab ride into New York Penn Station where you will purchase your train ticket for High Bridge, NJ on the Raritan Valley Line. You'll want to catch the 2:32 pm Northeast Corridor (NEC) Line train to Newark Penn Station. There, you will switch lines and take the 3:06 pm train to High Bridge which arrives at 4:27 pm. A Global LAB staff member will meet you at the High Bridge station and help you transfer to the retreat center.

Don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions you might have regarding this day full of travel before we all meet together at the retreat center!

More soon,

Tracy

If you have other questions do not hesitate to ask.

Michelle (Director of Admissions)
michelle@global-lab.org or 800 984 4522
PS- The CORE medical insurance program we provide for students is still working on upgrading its website-we'll have more information about that for students soon..

If you have questions about preparing for your Global LAB Fall Semester
program you can contact Alex Safos (Director of North African and Middle
Eastern Programs for Global LAB) at alex@global-lab.org

Here are some important reminders for you:

1) Please send in a digital picture of yourself to go along with your self-introduction on the blog (email to aaron@global-lab.org)

2) Tuition balances are now due- if you have received an acceptance letter for our program, please send the balance due to our Woodside NY office immediately (if for some reason you need an extension contact
michelle@global-lab.org)

3) Our pre-travel orientation will be held at Cross Roads Camp & Retreat Center in New Jersey, less than 1 hour from NYC. (We are renting this space to run our own orientation program there).

4) You should apply for your Indian visa soon. You can do so via this link: https://www.indian-visa.com/get-a-visa.html
Be sure to apply for a TOURIST visa (not a student visa which is only granted for those studying in long term Indian institution-based programs).

5) If you have not already done so, you should contact Sue Lai at sue@aviatravel.com to book your ticket to India on the flight selected for your group as soon as possible.

6) Get in the habit of checking the blog regularly as news of your program and pre-travel orientation plans will be posted here.

7) If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact one of us at Global LAB:

michelle@global-lab.org (Director of Admissions)
john@global-lab.org (Executive Director)
aaron@global-lab.org (Blog-poster/Admin Asst.)

Or give a call at 800 984 4522.

Looking forward to meeting you all at pre-travel orientation on September 12!

Michelle

Below is an address you can list as a local India contact on the visa
application. Namgial is the local coordinator for the Ladakh portion of
our program in the far northern part of India.

You can put a parent (or any family member or friend) down as a US contact.

Michelle

Rinchen Namgial
Yama Adventures/Himalayan Treks
P.O.Box 187, Head Post Office
Leh, Ladakh
194 101, India

"Hey," as they say in Bethesda, Maryland! I'm Ariana, but I go by Ari. I'm 18, and this semester is the start of my gap year. I'm currently enrolled in Kenyon College, but decided to defer so I could go to India with you guys and then to France. My biggest passions are dancing (anything from hip hop to ballet to flamenco), creative writing, and traveling. Being half-Filipino, visiting many countries, and living near Washington, D.C. has given me a taste for how fascinating diversity is. I can't wait to go to India-a place I haven't been, with friends I haven't met. We're going to have fun.

Hey everyone, my name is Timothy and I’m a graduating senior from a high school in New Orleans. I’ve lived in New Orleans for the past two years, after moving there from New Jersey in August of 2006 (yes, after Katrina). My deepest passion is creative writing, but I don’t know what I want to pursue as a career. I’m really looking forward to this trip and I hope that it’ll help guide me towards a career/college choice. It’s going to be a blast. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Hi, my name is Jake. I am a senior in high school. I plan to go to art school in fall of 2009. I am also a drummer. I am very excited about spending time in India and learning about Indian culture and music. I like to hang out with my friends and make music.

Hey everyone! I'm Mirise and I'm from North Salem, New York. I am currently taking
time off from school to travel and experience the world, as opposed to sit in a
classroom. Aside from travelling and experiencing, I enjoy photography, painting,
climbing mountains, music, etc etc. I chose to be a part of this upcoming journey to
India for a variety of reasons I'm sure I'll have a lot of time to talk to you all
about when we meet in the future, so I won't get into them here. I am really excited
to meet everyone and am even more excited to experience India with all of you.

Until we meet,
Mirise

My name is Natalie. I am a rising junior at Columbia University and live in New York City. I study art and like painting and photography, especially. I love Andy Warhol, Dylan's Desire, Lost, and The Wire.

Hi I am Sam, I am from Larchmont, NY, and I summer on Martha's Vineyard, MA...I love music and being on the water although I am also really into skiing. Looking forward to this trip!