Eight explore India
February 21, 2005
Because McDaniel believes in discussion-centered, active learning, classes are small and professors often use innovative approaches and hands-on experiences to keep their classes lively and interesting.
For eight students traveling with former Fulbright scholar Greg Alles during a January Term trip to India, things never got boring. In fact, "the whole trip was amazing," said psychology and sociology dual major Diego de los Rios. Diego had taken many classes with Alles, a professor of religious studies, and was eager to go to India with him as a guide.
"I think about the crowded streets, the friendly people and the temples—especially a Jain temple we visited in a small town. It was carved in white marble and was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life," said Diego.
According to Alles, the specific purpose of the 17-day study tour in northwest India was to observe the religion and culture among a group of tribal people, "allegedly aboriginal inhabitants of India and among the most disadvantaged."
One sobering observation. Diego, a native of Bogota, Colombia, has traveled to Thailand and the Dominican Republic, among other places, but has never before seen such poverty.
"Before we left, people tried to prepare me for the poverty we would witness, but it was still 1,000 times worse than I expected."
For music major Stacy Fitzwater, it was her first trip abroad, and as an American in several small Indian villages, she was the subject of much curiosity.
During their five-day stay in the small village of Tejgadh, a traveling tribal group staged a play and children gathered from other villages to enjoy the performance. Stacy soon found herself surrounded by several girls, ages 8-10 years old, who giggled and whispered until they captured her attention. "I knew that they were talking about us," said Stacy, "and so we tried to teach each other a few words."
Professor Alles called it a high point of the trip. "Just by looking at their faces you could see how that interchange worked."
The students also toured a village where they enjoyed a discussion with older students with the benefit of an English translator and visited a self-employed women's center where women are taught how to use their tribal arts to earn a little money for their families.
For Stacy, the hardest things about the trip were the living and traveling conditions. "Bathrooms were simply a hole in the ground, and we used buckets of water to shower."
The Indian food she found to be much spicier, more flavorful than any she had sampled before. But by the second week, most students began yearning for foods with meat, since they were traveling in 100 percent vegetarian region. While a snowstorm stranded Stacy in Dulles airport for her stateside return, her Mom kept her dinner of homemade pork chops warm for the next day's homecoming.
The class will present a photo lecture of their trip to the College community at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in McDaniel Lounge. All are invited to attend.
For more information, contact Peggy Fosdick, director of communications, at 410-857-2293.
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