What is my purpose?
You have already demonstrated a level of engagement by expressing an interest in the field school program. We are about to embark on an adventure that will be full of great moments but will also present each of us – professors included – with routine challenges. Before reviewing some of the challenges, we ask you to reflect on a critical question.
What is my purpose?
Knowing why you are embarking on this adventure will put you in a position to better navigate the how of this potentially transformative journey.
Preparation is critical. It means not only thinking deeply about how to personally engage with all aspects of India 2020, but also setting meaningful goals every step of the way, such as communicating clearly, practicing self-care, and challenging our assumptions about how the world works. This type of preparation will not only support your experience but also the experiences of others.
We will all be pulled from our comfort zones and will at times feel anxious, or challenged, or discouraged, or in need of a break from the group, or just plain tired. 
The good news is that planning will allow you to be ready for India to wash over you with all of its colours, sounds, and smells; with its swell of humanity, and its closeness; with its ancient culture and modern challenges; with its vibrancy.
On the personal front, the key is for each of you to be engaged and to develop your capacity to lead long before we lift off.
Goal setting
Demonstrating engagement and leadership can also be achieved through active goal setting. We think that each of you should take a few minutes to think about and capture one or more goals you will pursue as part of India 2020. These goals can be academic, professional or personal. These goals can change as your India experience evolves. There is no rulebook for identifying and acting on your goals. It can be done in a range of ways. But the act of listing your goals, and thinking about how you will accomplish those goals during the field school, will enrich the experience by keeping you focused, motivated and providing a way to measure success.
Experiencing a new culture
Culture shock is a catch-all phrase to describe the anxiety we often feel when traveling to unfamiliar places and being exposed to new cultures. You might feel tired, disorientated, annoyed, homesick etc. It is important to understand that these feelings are a normal response to the challenges of being away from home, and being subject to information overload, adjustment to new foods, sleeping in new places, being with a group of people 24/7, and dealing with a different climate. Here is a list of concerns expressed by former India field-schoolers when asked in advance of their trip what worried them most about going to India.
Their worries are described in bold below. We then asked them after their trip whether their concerns were valid based on having been in India. Those responses follow the bolded text.
Safety – a concern but didn’t feel unsafe at all during trip
Staying at Ashram – but no need to be concerned
Culture shock – it is real, but overcame it through group interaction
Poverty – it was difficult to see, but wasn’t as much of a concern as expected
Being homesick – it happens but nothing to be afraid of
Food – valid concern, big change in diet and adjusting to food is a challenge
Physical challenges – busy trip and easy to get tired; can get hot
Ability to immerse oneself in culture – not a valid concern
Group travel – some cliques developed; felt judged by others; inner shyness
Functioning properly in new culture – valid concern; needed time to process the experience; tiring at times; language barriers
Group work – not a valid concern; smaller work groups were fun
Being a ‘princess’ – not valid; students were able to adjust to the conditions
You can see that for the most part the field-schoolers generally adapted better to being in India than they thought would be the case. Even so, it is normal to have concerns either in advance of the field school or during.
Being calm
Is a normal sensation under the circumstances, and one that we all share at one point or another and in different ways based on our previous experiences abroad, and our personal expectations and wishes. When feeling anxious there are a few concrete steps you might take.
Talk to someone in the group about it. Not the whole group but one other group member you are comfortable with.
Take a break. It is ok to want to take some time alone, or to sit quietly on a train or bus ride and not feel as if you need interact.
Write some postcards for friends at home. Not an email, or a text, but a postcard, and share an experience you had and mail it to them.
Keep a journal. This is a great way to process your day, and examine your feelings. Journaling can be useful to you in completing your final assignment in COMM 3501. Your journal is private and for your eyes only, but you might want to share elements of it in your post-field school reflections.
Use essential oils to breathe in calm, block out undesirable odors.
Bring a few comfort snacks – something from home you really like such as M&Ms or Jolly Ranchers.
Read a favourite book you have read before and enjoyed.
Check-in at home in the evenings, but sparingly. When away from home, be away from home.
Drink water routinely
Take electrolytes – more details in the manual under packing entries. It might sound funny now, but if you get dehydrated you won’t feel well and that can make you anxious about your surroundings.
These tips are easy to accommodate even with the busy schedule we will have in India.
Considering spirituality
To understand India it is important to recognize the role that spirituality and religion play in its ancient culture. In the questionnaire 2014 students completed after the trip, several students said they were uncomfortable with being exposed to spiritual practices contrary to their own beliefs. Our exposure to these religions and their spiritual underpinnings should not be seen as a challenge to the beliefs of our field school students. All views are respected. It is an effort to increase our understanding of the impact of spiritual practices on people generally and India in particular.
To better prepare us all, we now invite experts on Eastern religion to visit our class and provide us information on Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, prior to leaving. This learning enhances our interactions in India at Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist temples.
Learning about different religions also helps us to be better visitors and guests. For example, the majority of ashram children and residents are practicing Hindus. We will also visit the Dalai Lama’s Buddhist temple in Dharamshala. Additionally, while in the preparation phase, and at our wrap-up event post-trip, we invite the Medicine Trail Coordinator from MRU’s Iniskim Centre to perform a traditional Indigenous smudge ceremony with us.
In preparation for field school, we asked the chaplain at MRU to connect with you. Here is the note:
Greetings from Mount Royal’s Multi-faith Chaplaincy
Greetings from Mount Royal’s Interfaith Centre (a part of the Office of Campus Equity & Meaningful Inclusion, C201)
It is with great enthusiasm and joy that we send off our Mount Royal students on what will be a truly unique adventure. Our world is diverse and pluralistic. And it is beautiful. We see diversity as an opportunity to embrace the other where we are similar, and to grow as we learn and celebrate our differences. We want to encourage you to immerse yourselves in a new environment. Undoubtedly, you may learn more about new beliefs, traditions, and religions than your own tradition. We hope this is an opportunity to deepen your own beliefs while setting a new precedent for a pluralistic society that is based on friendship, empathy, and love for the other. May you be encouraged to gain new understandings of other cultures, beliefs, and traditions by seeking authentic relationships. May you open your heart to the stranger and cherish their stories. And may you come home with a deeper sense of yourself, your beliefs, and seek to share what you have learned with the rest of the Mount Royal University community.
Travelling mercies from the Interfaith Centre
Should you have further questions or wish to have a discussion with one of our chaplain’s or representatives please contact our Interfaith Coordinator: Greg Veltman (gveltman@mtroyal.ca).
The value of reflection
We have already referenced setting goals, and keeping a journal during the field-school, which are both tools of reflection. We can’t underscore enough the importance of you all undertaking a routine and ongoing effort to capture and reflect upon your experiences, your comforts and discomforts, times when you are confused, times when you are surprised, excited, disappointed and so on. India is more than a trip, it is a journey and actively engaging in the process and thinking about the results will:
- Help you mentally process the nature and value of the trip
- Provide more clarity and deepen your understanding of India and yourself
- Shape your views of the world and your place in it
Embrace the experience
Here is some advice from previous field-schoolers:
- In the end, what you gain is worth so much more than the effort it takes to gain it
- Embrace the experience and don’t be afraid
- Go into it with an open mind
- Everyone will experience it differently
- Don’t be afraid to try new things
- Trust the process
- Stay true to yourself and be kind to yourself because it will be a struggle at times
- Be open, be curious and be aware that you are a guest
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