What can you do when school's out? My answer...a lot!! At the end of February, I gave my exams for what would be my junior year of high school. Starting in March, I am only required to go to school a total of less than 10 more days. This is because I will not start class 12 in India and am similarly not allowed to repeat class 11th here either. This freedom has given me the opportunity to go many places and do many things. Let’s start with the most boring of times – being in school. Well, it’s not all that bad. The time on the bus and the first 10 minutes of school before class starts, I am able to talk with my friends who I otherwise do not meet on a daily basis anymore. However, during the school day, I have no time table, no scheduled time. In other words, I am free to do anything – except sit with my class – for 8 out of 9 periods of the day (my second period being dedicated to Hindi). Since I have been requested to make a sculpture - something I am surprisingly good at – I spend most of that time in the sculpture room. The con to this being that maybe 3 other students my age come in during the day to participate in the class. In India, there is not big emphasis on the arts, especially in the higher-level classes. In Hindi class, I find it much easier to converse now that I have done many things outside of school. My Hindi is not very good, but it is still 30 minutes of the day that I can guarantee I will find something to laugh about in. Usually, it is over some error I have made in Hindi or the exaggerated hand gestures I use to convey my point. Aside from school, an important part of my time now is volunteerism. In order to give back for my exchange, I have started volunteering with Karma Animal Foundation, an NGO in Gurgaon which cares for 60-70 dogs at any given time. In the past few months, I have accumulated 100 hours logged in service. Therefore, I chose to connect my Capstone Project to my volunteer work: https://youtu.be/bTn6XYnJqTA I have also volunteered with Amitasha, though I only had one class this month. During that class, a new session had started so I taught self-introductions in English to the class 2 and 3 students. It was a very fun experience and was one of the first times I had taught a lesson completely on my own. In addition to school and volunteer work, I have made time to go to Delhi and experience as much as possible. I have been able to do this by going with McKenna, whose capstone project involves viewing old sights to learn about the architecture of Delhi. With this project, I have been to Red Fort (Lal Quila) and Old Fort (Purana Quila) and revisited Akshardham. It is refreshing to spend the day out, experiencing life in the city. Sometimes the smallest moments create equally big memories. While making the gunjiya for Holi, I was reminded of a Ukrainian/Russian dish that we make very often at home and is a specialty of my church back home: Pierogies. So, the next day, I made the dough, my host mom made a delicious filling, and I formed the best pierogies I could manage. A few minutes in boiling water and a few more on a frying pan, and soon enough I had some of the most delicious pierogies I had ever tasted. Who could forget about smiley potatoes? They perfectly convey my thoughts on the dish. Some days are more special than others. This is the case with celebrating Olivia’s birthday. I took the metro and met up with Colin, changing into Indian wear and going to Olivia’s house before she reached home from school. Despite my last minute gift and the last minute plans, I had a great time. I don’t remember the last time we had all three met up and just been able to talk together. Getting home a little late was a small price to pay for this experience. With Muskaan preparing for boards, we haven’t spent the most time together with me out of the house for volunteering and everything, but the time we have spent together has been priceless. Coming back from Red Fort, Muskaan then offered to take me to Qutub Minar, which was an opportunity I could not pass up. The next day, we went. Luckily for me, I can go with someone who is not a foreigner since being foreign often means being overcharged for everything. We had a great time at Qutub Minar – having Muskaan was far better than the audio tour I would have taken otherwise. Even if we didn’t know the true history behind it, it was sometimes better – or at least funnier – to make up stories. On the way back home, we enjoyed iced tea, mine with actual ice, and watched a foreign couple pay 5 time the amount we did for an auto ride from the metro station to the monument. March has been an exciting month for me, and I am heading full speed, whether I like it or not, into my last full month in India. I anticipate that April will go by the fastest of all as I will be traveling quite a bit – I leave for Rajasthan on the 31st of this month! I am excited to see what the rest of my experience will bring me, and I pray that it won’t go by too fast. Next stop: Jaipur.
2 Comments
Julie
4/3/2018 07:52:13 pm
Well!!! Holi sounds like oodles of fun! What a great way to interact with friends, family, neighbors and total strangers! I’d heard about it from family who have traveled to India, but your description brought it more to life! I’d like to see a before-picture of everyone. Everyone in white pristine outfits and then side-by-side with the colorful Holi after-pictures ... next time you’ll have to get it! This sounds like a repeat event for the US.
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Julie
4/15/2018 09:57:09 am
Just thought if something! You should learn to make at least one dish really well before you leave. It’ll be your signature dish everywhere you go after this. And many people will agree that as we get older the things they regret not learning wasn’t something in school, it was a family members food dish. Just a suggestion ...
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AuthorNamaste! Mera naam Anna hai! Hi! my name is Anna. Please enjoy reading about my experience as a high school junior in India and ask any questions you may have! Archives
June 2019
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