Our wonderful group of ten met for a taste of India at Allison's house last night--red lentil dahl, bright rice, chicken tika masala, cucumber raita and a fabulous cardamom perfumed dessert by Christine. From top left-- Brianna Jones, Cara Chapman, Emily Sanderson, Brian Devilly, Jacquelyn Duffy, 2nd row  Kate Messitidis, Mary Varnavides (with Matt Seklecki on the phone--he was busy recruiting new students for SMC), Sunny Masison and Christine Peloquin. 24 days until we fly!

We are going but who are we?

In less than one month, the thirteenth group of students and staff from Saint Michael’s College will embark on our journey to India. That’s right – each year for thirteen years SMC has sent groups to Kolkata to serve! We’re very proud and comfortable with the relationships and legacy we’ve built serving there and are thrilled to be going back this year.

Our group this year has been forming ourselves for the experience since October, with even more preparation happening in the next month leading up to this meaningful and transformative immersion in Kolkata life and service.

We are 2 men and 8 women; two staff members and 8 students; 2 sophomores, 2 juniors, 4 seniors and 2 grad students. We are 1 Canadian, 8 U.S. citizens, and one half Canadian/half U.S. citizen. We study history, political science, French, Spanish, anthropology, biology, environmental studies, media studies, journalism and the digital arts, education and the liberal arts. When we travel, we will be one M.A.T, five B.A.s, two B.A.s in-progress, two B.S.’s in-progress and one M.Ed in progress. We are one island-born, two Greeks, one wicked Bawston accent and a collection of other northern New England natives. We each bring unique experiences and perspectives to a vibrant, intelligent and compassionate group. Among us are cooks, artists, writers, athletes, yogis, activists, teachers, learners, knitters and tea drinkers. In all, we’ve been occupying space at Saint Mike’s continuously since 2007. We’ve read, planned, discussed, questioned, fundraised and wished for our time in India. We’re lucky, youthful, prepared travelers dreaming of what more we can learn and love in Kolkata. We are ready to bring our enthusiasm to the work and to get to know ourselves as well as those we serve.

Please follow this blog to hear more from us as we serve from May 18 – June 8, 2015. We are excited for this journey, and hope you’ll be excited with us! When we travel, we will bring donations that we have gathered over the last 8 months, as well as the love, support, prayers and positivity of our loved ones at home. Thank you for holding us in the light while we embark on this adventure!

Looking forward to sharing more with you!

Love & light,

Sunny ‘12

Kolkata 2015 Leader

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” 
- Mother Teresa -