Nicole’s e-Pistle “Travel 2”

May 13, 2026

Greetings, Friends!

Last week, I ran out of time and space to tell you about my trip to India in January of 2023. This was in response to a question in the “Ask the Pastor” box in the Commons about where I have traveled.

Every year, Columbia takes groups of MDiv students to other countries as part of a “Cultural Immersion” program. The idea is to take students to see cultures and peoples that are very different from themselves. It is a spiritual journey, but not in a Missionary sense. The purpose is not to proselytize or change those cultures or beliefs in any way, but to learn about what Christianity looks like in those contexts, especially in pluralistic societies in which Christianity may be a minority religion, such as in India. It is also a time to simply enjoy meeting people, eating local foods, and experiencing as much of what life is like in a place where we are the foreigners.

We began our immersion with the state of Kerala at the southern tip of India. I wish I could find a picture of me fishing with the giant nets they use – it took about eight of us to pull the ropes to lift the net from the water using the pully system they had installed. I also had a chance to put my feet in the Persian Gulf, though everyone – including the locals – advised against it! (Parasites and all.)

We traveled from Kerala by overnight bus to a remote region of Tamil Nadu to visit a girl’s school there. We were welcomed as family, took a tour of the classrooms, and were entertained by some traditional folk dances. From there, it was a short skip over the boarder into Andhra Pradesh to visit a Hindu temple called Tirupati on top of a sacred mountain.

Then, we flew to Bengaluru, Karnataka, to visit a Theology School there and to do some shopping in the bustling city. I bought two “kurtas,” which consist of a tunic over pants with a sari wrap or shawl. (See picture below.) We also toured a local college as well and enjoyed the hospitality of the school’s president.

Finally, we flew to Hyderabad, Telangana. There, we went to another Hindu temple/shrine called The Statue of Equality – a vast, golden monument dedicated to medieval guru Sri Ramanuja, with a meditation hall in its base (see picture below). We also enjoyed eating biriyani, which is a different kind of food, with the rice and vegetables (and meats if your religion allows it) all mixed up together.

Here are some of the few pictures I have been able to find from my trip. I thought they backed up to the cloud, but who knows – maybe the cloud rained!

Me in a kurta…