Mission Statement

Hello Everyone,

I'm Jazzmin and I will be traveling through India for the next 5 weeks with an organization called the Tibetan Women's Organization (TWA). I want everyone who's anyone to take part in my travels and live vicariously through me for a summer, so feel free to comment on any of my posts or forward this link to your friends, family, or loved ones...things that are posted on the internet are meant to be public :) And now to give you all a brief explanation and logical reason as to why I'm venturing to India solo.

My primary purpose for this trip is to conduct research for UC Berkeley on the subject of microfinance (I will explain this term in detail in a later post) in refugee communities, therefore I chose a small Tibetan community in Dharamsala, India. This particular community is home to his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and over 200,000 Tibetan refugees-- whom have all traveled the long trek through the Himalayan mountains in hopes of acquiring political asylum from the Chinese. Here are a few links that give a brief description about the current predicament of Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama
http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php
http://www.tibetanwomen.org/

While in Dharamsala, I will be working in the mirconfiance department with young girls that are attempting to become economically independent through textile making (more detail to come..promise). Luckily, I will also be interning for TWA during their annual women's conference and will have the opportunity to traveling with them for 10 days throughout Northern India. TWA is responsible for organizing the entire conference in which 100 of the most politically active Tibetan women will gather and discuss plans of action against Chinese oppression. Since TWA is a recognized and approved Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the Dalai Lama, their protests must remain peaceful and honor Buddhist teachings. An example of their political activity can be seen at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where 30 women from TWA peacefully protested outside of the Olympic games with picket signs displaying, "China out of Tibet now". All participants of this rally were beaten and imprisoned-- including my host mother.

On a lighter and more philosophical note....

I'm venturing alone to India not because I'm fearless or daring.. to be quite honest, I'm extremely nervous, anxious, and terrified (only human)! HOWEVER, I have this crazy curiosity of how I will act when forced to encounter a foreign place by myself. Thoreau encouraged absolute solitude with nature in efforts of truly discovering ones-self; well I may not be physically alone amongst trees and wild beast, but I will be alone amongst a jungle of new customs, colors, and cultures. I do not know the language nor the traditional practices like I did when traveling through Central America. My major at UC Berkeley is International Development-- concentration in Latin America, therefore India is quite left-field for current knowledge. But I am woman who appreciates change, spontaneity, and surprise so I have a a theory that I will become so hypnotized by the new-ness of my surroundings that instinctual feelings such as fear will be erased and replaced with an appreciation/ adoration for another world.


I just want to warn in advance (but all of you may already know) that I am a spiritualist, idealistic, and philosophical person.. these qualities will undoubtedly deepen with my travels through India, so get ready!