Wednesday, September 25, 2013 • page 19
grew up around horses as well, so we had a fun
conversation. A few weeks later, I texted her
and said, ‘I have a good feeling about you be
ing interested in something like this’ and asked
her about [going to India], Her yes’was almost
immediate.”
Doing something different
Stim said he has always felt drawn to study
ing abroad, but he felt a need to do something
no Elon student has done before. He just wasn’t
initially sure what that would be.
“I was looking at all the adventures the Ad
venturists [a group run by U.K.-based company
The League of Adventurists International Ltd.]
offer and looking for the one I would have the
most success with,” Stim said. “I thought to my
self,‘The Rickshaw Run is possible, but I should
not do this.’ Then a few months went by and
I was like, ‘I should probably be doing this, or
at least asking someone if they want to do this
with me.”’
Each member of the group agreed to par
ticipate in their own time, but everyone agreed
with his sentiments about studying abroad.
“[Studying abroad] is just a really enriching
experience for anybody who wants to mix it up
and go to a different country or see a different
way of life,” Donahue said.
But Nulsen said their trip to India will
be different from any typical study abroad
experience.
“What we’re doing is throwing ourselves
into the mercy of this country,” she said. “We’re
not taking a train to different parts of Europe
and staying in nice hotels.”
HaUigan agreed, relaying the impression he’s
gotten from other Elon students about studying
abroad.
“You find a lot of commonalities between
the way students describe their study abroad
trips,” he said. “No matter where they go, they’re
like, ‘Oh yeah, I went slg^diving here, I [partied
here] and it was awesome.’ They have a lot of
fun but they don’t really learn too much — in
my opinion. This is a unique trip because it’s an
experience that no one at this school has had.
We’re going to suffer and be in the struggle.”
Castine said the best part of the trip will be
experiencing the challenges the team will face
together.
“This is going to be a bigger challenge than
anything we’ve ever done before and we get to
give back to the country that’s going to give us
this great experience,” Castine said. “Instead of
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KYRA GEMBERLING | Features Editor
Smitty’s is sponsoring Team Elon Tuk Tuk by offering
a new flavor called “Rickshaw Run Oreo.” The team
will receive proceeds from the sale of the flavor.
going and doing and leaving, we get to experi
ence [being abroad] in its best form and then
give them something.”
By “give them something,” Castine is refer
encing the charities involved in the Adventur
ists’projects and specifically the Rickshaw Run.
Making preparations
After Stirn assembled his rickshaw crew,
he began wading through technical details.
As part of the rickshaw program, each
team is required to raise $4,000 by the end
of the run. They’ve chosen the Frank Waters
Project as their central charity.
“The Frank Waters Project was started by
a girl who went to India on a class trip and
got sick from drinking the unclean water,”
Nulsen said. “When she got back, she decided
to start this charity which sells purified water.
The proceeds go to resolve the water pumps in
rural India. It’s cool because now we’re going
to do the same thing while we’re in India and
understand what it’s like to not have direct ac
cess to clean drinking water. ”
The Adventurists has a general charity at
tached to the event called Cool Earth that
seeks to slow climate change by mitigating
deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Locally, Team Tuk Tuk has sought out
sponsorship in ice cream.
Some Elon students may have noticed a
new flavor at Smitty’s called “Rickshaw Run
Oreo.”The name represents Smitty’s sponsor
ship of the team, and Team Elon Tuk Tuk will
receive proceeds for every carton consumed by
Elon ice cream eaters.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS
Mohammad Siddiqi has pulled a rickshaw through the streets of Kolkata, India for more than 50 years. Team
Elon Tuk Tuk will have to pull rickshaws similar to this for more than 1,800 miles from Jaisalmer to Kochi.
“It also means we have an excuse to habitu
ally eat ice cream, which is good,” Donahue
said.
In addition to Smitty’s, the team has
gained sponsorship from an outdoor apparel
company and a local coffee shop in Stirn’s
hometown.
The team has set up a group email, Word-
Press blog, phone number and Facebook page
where parties interested in making donations
or researching the Rickshaw Run can do so.
In the months leading up to the trip, the
team will be exploring every nook and cranny
of Elon’s study abroad system to make then-
trip smooth, safe and productive for their own
purposes and also for the proper representa
tion of Elon.
They’ve done research, made a list of poten
tial habilities and hazards and even outlined
a syllabus for an independent study abroad
course. They hope this will not only pave their
way across India but also guide futine students
who seek to study the road less traveled and
create an abroad experience all their own.
“What I’ve found is that I’m combining
every possible passion I have ever had and
now finding I can put everything I know into
this,” Stirn said.
His teammates agreed.
“Will has put blood, sweat and tears into
this,” Nulsen said. “We can’t wait to see where
this journey takes us.” §