2 Weeks Until Take Off!

I have been really busy with the end of the semester. I have 4 papers due, one lab final, and 3 other finals all around the same time. I just gave a presentation on a paper I wrote for the India class called "Environmental Management of the Ganges River in the 21st Century." The presentation went really well and the class (all political science/public administration majors) seemed to be interested in the talk. The Ganges River is a very important spiritual and cultural icon in India, people see it as an actual "godess." They bathe in the river to receive eternal salvation (called moksha), which is release from the cycle of reincarnation. The river is supposed to purify them. Although since so many people live in the river basin (one tenth of the world population), there are many pollutants in the water. Raw sewage, runoff from agricultural fields, and industrial waste all goes into the river. This has health impacts on the people, spreading disease, and in some cases causing cancer. I am excited to visit Varanasi which is a very holy site along the Ganges River with 3 of my classmates after the actual course is over.