The Valparaiso University Office of International Programs is planning a spring break trip to India for students and faculty. The two-week guided tour leaves the first Sunday of spring break and will take travelers around the Golden Triangle of Northern India, including visits to New Delhi, Jaipur and Varanasi. Also included in the trip will be an elephant ride to the Amber Fort, a visit to a tiger sanctuary and possible trips to courts or the Indian Parliament.
The primary focus of the trip, according to Dean Adams, is a cultural exchange to expose participants to India. Valparaiso University School of Law Professer, Barbara Schmidt, went to India last March on the University faculty trip, and described the experience as just amazing. Schmidt spoke of streets 15 feet wide in the old section of New Delhi with merchant stands and small shops selling beads and jewelry to pedestrians while bicycle messengers and small vehicles whipped by. Schmidt also talked about riding an elephant in procession up, “a long, angled pathway” with her daughter to get up to a palace in the Pink City, also known as Jaipur.
Schmidt said the elephants were decorated in bright colored paints and trappings. On the way up to the palace, according to Schmidt, a woman riding an elephant in front of her dropped her sunglasses on the path. The driver of the woman’s elephant spoke to the driver of the elephant behind him, who told his elephant to pick up the sunglasses and the elephant did it. The driver and elephant then rode up along side the woman’s elephant to return the sunglasses.
While in the tiger sanctuary in Ranthambore National Park, Schmidt said that while her group did not see any tigers close up, another group of Valpo travelers watched tigers cross one of the sanctuary roads right in front of them.
Varanasi is a city on the Ganges River, which is sacred to both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Some people do sun prayers and bathe in the Ganges River. Varanasi is also the site of the
temple where Buddha made his first sermon, and is not far from the famed Bodhi tree under which Buddha would receive enlightenment. From Varanasi, the Valpo group took an overnight train back to Delhi for the trip home.
Total costs for the trip will be $3,400.00, which includes airfare, hotels, transportation in India and food. A $1,200.00 deposit is due with an application by September 30, 2008. Interested students should contact Nancy Montez at Nancy.Montez@valpo.edu to see if spots are still available. Participation will be limited to about 20 people.
Financial aid as well as academic credit will be available for law students. According to Dean Adams, students will be able to receive one credit for writing an independent research paper and going on the trip. For more information on receiving academic credit for the trip, contact Dean Adams.
Financial aid will be available for the trip to India, but the options for students vary depending on certain factors. If a student has not yet borrowed up to the total cost of attendance, then he or she can borrow up to that amount regardless of whether or not he or she is receiving academic credit for the trip. Students who have borrowed the full cost of attendance, on the other hand, may only have their cost of attendance
figure adjusted for federal purposes if he or she is going to receive academic credit for the trip. A third option is that the University can inquire with private lenders of a student’s own choosing to find out whether or not the lender would loan the student funds for the trip if the University certifies that the trip is related to the student’s educational experience. The last option is available regardless of whether a student wishes to receive academic credit for the trip. For more information about financial aid options, please see Ann Weitgenant in the Law School Financial Aid office.
Students will also need current passports, and it is recommended that if students don’t have a passport, that they start the application process now. According to Dean Adams, passports typically must be valid for at least six months after the date of a planned international trip; interested students who have passports should check the expiration date of their passports and renew if necessary.
The University will get the visas for the participating students, but students will be responsible for any fees involved in acquiring a visa. Students may also need vaccinations before trav
eling to India, specifically for Malaria, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). For more information regarding vaccinations, visit the CDC website: wwwn.cdc.gov/travel. It is also recommended by the CDC that travelers consult with a physician before getting travel vaccinations.
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