Dhaujee Kelly at Parijat Academy

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-20T21:08:00.004+05:30

This morning I woke up not to the sound of children screaming as they played tagged on the school grounds, but to the sound of my mothers heels clicking as she prepared for work. Today I woke up in America....it all felt so different. My big sister (Lipi) wasn't knocking on my door to bring me tea, so it was only right for me to go downstairs and prepare tea for my brothers and myself. It was the first time that they had had raw tea and I prepared just as Lipi would for me along with some chana chur (one of my favorite Indian snacks)...they loved it.
My last days at the Academy were some of the hardest. I did not want to deal with the reality of leaving. I had a surprise for the hostel children and the family that took me in as their own. I made and presented them all with friendship bracelets, because they were like family, friends, and students all in one. They made my time there comforting and enjoyable. My last night there, there was no current so I sat in a circle with the children and we all shared songs, they laughed and asked me again and again to sing at least 2 American songs and I felt so shy around them, but it all was a good time. It is unexplainable how much I will miss them.

On the last day, Lipi and Monika came in the room and sat with me as my face grew longer and longer when the time got closer for me to leave. They helped me pack and made sure I didn't forget anything. Uttam's father asked me to come back and I will never forget the smile that grew on his face when I told him that I would. Uttam brought me all of my favorite sweets to eat before I left and I just felt so sad. As the children helped me bring my bags to the car, I knew it was goodbye...I couldn't look them in the eyes because the very sight of their smiling faces made me cry. Then I looked over at my big sister and saw her eyes tearing up, I couldnt hold it in any longer. I cried as I waved goodbye over and over and closed the door. I cried all the way to the airport (thank God Uttam didnt have a camera :). When I got to the airport, it was worse, I was saying goodbye to Uttam, the overprotective, caring, determined big brother that I never had. I had to say goodbye to Guwahati for now. It was really hard to accept that I was leaving my family back at the Academy, on the plane as I looked through the pictures I began to cry again, the guy next to me asked if I was missing my boyfriend. I told him I am missing my brothers and sisters and he responded with "How many do you have?" "20," I said so smoothly...he gave me a look like what are your parents up to???? But then I told him, 3 at home in America that I've missed for the past 2 months and 17 that I am leaving behind in Guwahati.
I had major flight problems, each of the flights that I had were either cancelled or delayed. The flight from Guwahati to Bangalore had to stay in Kolkata for 3 hours because the city declared a bandh and passengers could not make it to the airport, I had to spend a night in Bangalore because the plane heading to london had defective parts and could not take off, and I could not get a flight into Baltimore unless I wanted to stay in London an extra day (which would have been nice but I really just wanted to be home), so I had to fly into Dulles airport. I began traveling at 2pm on Friday (india time) and did not reach home until about 10pm Sunday night (Baltimore time...which is 8am Indian time). I was extremely tired of traveling, but I could not control my smile as I saw my mother get out of her truck to hug me. I was so happy to see her, and even though when I am away at school it's normally about 2 months between my visits home, this time felt different...I felt new and refreshed. I was so happy to see my family, to be home with them...it felt different but great none the less.
Today I am spending the day with my little brothers, amazingly we havent argued since I have been home. It was soo good to talk to them until 1 in the mornign about some of my experiences in India. I told them, this is only the beginning for me...we will many more conversations like this.
I have a couple more posts!!! Will post soon!!

The last full day

2009-07-16T09:14:00.002+05:30

Yesterday morning when I had to get up early to wash all my clothes I realized that I am actually leaving here tomorrow. As I scramble around to finish up some things that I have been working it makes me sad that I am leaving. While I was in my room packing yesterday, Lipi came in and told me not to go....she told me to come back and stay for at least 6 months, America is expensive anyway. It made me smile to know that I have grown close to this family in my short stay. Uttam is constantly trying to catch me crying so that he can take a picture of me lol, I guess he will use it as blackmail.
Yesterday the sun scorched the village, a pair of jeans that I handwashed dried in one hour, sad but true. There was a wedding in the village so I got to attend another wedding. Again the food was amazing and the bride looked so beautiful. All the little children were running around playing tag while the adults sat and talked. Reminded me of all the weddings and cookouts I attend at home. After the wedding I went souvenir shopping and being at the outdoor market made me realize how much Assamese I can understand and semi-speak now. I did pretty good on my own, and even managed to do some bargaining on alreadt dirt cheap prices. Lipi's parents prepared dinner for me before I left and after two whole months, Lipi's brother finally removed his shyness and had a conversation with me. All these things are just a reminder that I have to leave here. Of course i want to go home, but in a way this is like a home to me. The children, the family, the villagers, the food lol. Na ligay Jaboh....I dont want to go :(
The good thing is that the children are back to classes today!!!! And I will be able to do the first aid workshop with the teachers. Today will be a good day, my last full day in Assam.

My trip with Biju bidu

2009-07-16T08:46:00.006+05:30

In the tea garden with Biju

Me with Amal...the young boy I met in the village

This little boy insisted on being in every picture that I took lol

At a village meeting

Biju!!!

Bhutan

These little worms and their cocoons give way to the most beautiful silk

Just some scenery

Some new pictures

2009-07-16T00:09:00.000+05:30

Getting ready to go to a wedding with Lipi

The older boys are making a small garden for the Academy!!

Smiles :)

2009-07-15T01:50:00.003+05:30

I must say that my mouth hurts from smiling so much. It hasn't been the usual, I am smiling at you because you are staring at me smile, but the genuine smile that I get when I feel happy inside. Even in the midst of awkward silence at the beginning of the week, there were things that made me grin continuously.
The students are still on their summer vacation and half of the hostel students are still gone but I have been enjoying my time with the hostel students that are here and the occasional visit from some of the 9th graders. The hostel children have really opened up to me, the other night we danced together and we just could not stop laughing the entire time. They were excited to see my moves to the different bollywood songs and even though I was just joking around they seemed to be enjoying it. We watch Hindi soap operas together and they laugh at me as I shake my head in shame at the overly dramatic scenes. They are like my younger sisters and brothers, they help me when I need it, giggle when they see me all dressed up in a sari, and desperately question me when I am going somewhere. The thought of leaving them makes me really sad, but when I can smile with them, I know that they are happy that I am here and I should just enjoy the time that I have with them.
I had the pleasure of spending this weekend with Biju Borbaruah the founder of the Asha Darshan Trust. She is truly an amazing and dynamic person. I was able to travel close to the Bhutan-Indian border to see her work that she does with women. On Monday, I was able to travel deep into the villages with her as she did some social work with the families there. It was an awesome experience, the culture that was present in the villages was like none other. The village children were sooo cute, they all saw that I was taking pictures so they became little models posing and such. I met one little boy in the village that i will never forget. I was sitting in silence as Biju carried out her meeting when I heard someone speaking to me in English. I turned to see the cutest little boy asking me what my name was. As we conversed, he told me that his health is bad, a physical disability, but that he really wants to be a doctor when he grows older and wants to come to America to receive his college degree. At only 15 years old, this little boy had been through so much and still remains positive. The place was absolutely beautiful, the scenery, the mountains, the water, the tea gardens...but most of all the stars. Because this place is not near any cities, mostly open land with no electricity, the stars at night were amazing. Each night that I was there I spent at least 2 hours gazing in awe. Never had I seen anything like it outside of a national geographic book. The clear skies gave way to an endless amount of stars with the occasional sight of distant lightening flashes. I honestly couldn't keep my mouth closed at the sight, that is until I realized how many bugs were outside. Because Biju knew a government official, I was able to see the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. It was a good experience overall. Biju has inspired me to take some of my dreams and make them reality. At such a young age she has accomplished so much with her organization and has joined forces with others.
There was a road bandh in the state of Assam that delayed my returned to the Academy. But when I got back, it truly felt good to be home. All the children smiled as I walked to my room, and I was very happy to see that 2 of the hostel girls had returned from home. Lipi asked me to come with her to two weddings and wedding parties. I was really excited, I got to dress up in my sari and put on makeup to go to my first Indian wedding!! I really had a good time at the weddings and the parties and the food was delicious. It was really cool to see the brilliant colors of the wedding...the decorations, the bride's clothing, the flowers. I had a great time!!!

I have to go now....will post again tonight!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-07-09T07:59:00.002+05:30

Yesterday (my time) was my younger brother Trevor's birthday. Since I was not able to use the computer to tell him before his bed time I wanted to give him a special bday wish on my blog...

Yesterday was a pretty rough day. The subtle issue with respect that I was having reached an uncomfortable limit. Since being in India, I have dealt with people assuming that because I am from America that I am a bit slow or lack knowledge of common realities and because I am a woman it has been insinuated that I am generally incapable of being an independent human being. Because I am here alone, now that Promona has gone, these issues have began to rise again. It is assumed that i have lived the "sheltered American life" and in no way can adjust to the realities of the Indian lifestyle. In coming to India, I took full responsibility and made the choice of being on my own in a trouble torn state and coming to help the children. If my voice is heard when I am standing in front of the children or doing anything that is related to the children, then it not be questioned when I make a general statement or ask a simple question. While usually I can ignore these small things and continue with my day, I unintentionally allowed it to get to me.
But like all good things must come to an end, so must all bad things. I was able to spend the day with a woman that I met earlier in my stay here at Parijat. We engaged in great conversation. We talked about child labor in India and she explained to me her experiences with it. While many will say that it is wrong, a lot of people keep children in their homes to make sure they stay off of the streets and properly educate them. But then there are parents that want the child to make money for them, so if a person says that they will educate the child, then the parent will not allow them to stay and instead take them somewhere where they will be able to work and earn money. It is a vicious cycle, parents instill the thought of money in the child's mind and the children have no desire to learn, or to do anything besides work for a living. It was a very interesting and heartbreaking conversation. Even when people try so hard to help the children in these conditions, there is not much that can effectively be done.
The older students came yesterday for a quiz competition, like a Jeopardy sort of thing. It was all in fun and the children really enjoyed themselves, especially the charades category...even I enjoyed that part. They stayed for a couple of hours and answered Assamese history, traditional songs, and geography questions. Even though I could not understand much of what was said, I really enjoyed the competition.
I can't believe that Micheal Jackson is actually gone. Since I haven't been in America, I don't think that it had sat in until last night. I let the hostel children watch the thriller video on my iPod and told them that it was Michael Jackson. They had no idea who he was!! It saddened me to know that the children hadn't been exposed to such a great music icon. They really enjoyed the video and asked to see it again. It was then that I realized that Michael was actually gone, that his music will not be able to reach new generations.

I have to get ready to go now...but I will post soon!!

Was I really feeling homesick?

2009-07-06T20:05:00.003+05:30

When Saturday began, I was pleased with the sunlight, it seemed like ages since I had seen a blue sky. I woke early to wash the load of clothes that I had been putting off for a week and when I finished, I was looking forward to doing something with the hostel children. Uttam made the children vacation from the 1st of July to the 14th, and because of that, two the hostel students came and asked him if they could go back to their homes. Then, I saw a few more of them packing, they were leaving me...all alone. Half of the hostel students left for home and as they waved, I realized that I desperately wanted to go with them. After the children had left, Lipi, the only female here close to my age, also decided that she wanted to leave and stay at her mother's house for a week. I couldn't believe how teary eyed I was getting. I wanted to go home too. There are no school students, no hostel students, no one to talk to that can actually relate to what I am saying, which meant that there was absolutely nothing for me to do. The feeling inside was weird. Often I have nothing to do, I mean I go to school in Maine but when there is nothing for me to do at school, I have my friends to do absolutely nothing with, at least we can engage in some type of conversation. But on Saturday, I felt like there was no one there and to top it off, there was nothing to do. It was a very uncomfortable feeling and I did not feel like being bothered. I just went in my room and slept until dinner, ate, then slept until the next morning.

On Sunday I woke to blistering heat with no current, which is always a signal for me to just go back to sleep (sad but true). I felt like a small child as I asked Uttam, what is there to do today , and even more like a small child when he told me we were going to the zoo. I quickly wrapped my sari and was excited about leaving the house, the two older boys from the hostel, Sankar and Nabakanta also went. More so than going to the zoo, I was excited about the hostel boys being able to come along. They are really polite young gentlemen and they way they smiled when we were out was unlike the other smiles I have seen come from them. I could tell that they were really enjoying their time away from the hostel. We all had a great time and took some pictures which are posted now. I even had this snack called chaat for the first time...it is like a smorgasbord of things that doesn't seem like it will taste good together and looks disgusting but tastes wonderful.

Although the children are on their summer vacations, some of them have been coming just for a couple of hours to do some activities. This morning, I took over the group of children that came. I decided to do a short grammar lesson. I felt pretty bad making them do work during their vacation but the group of 17 children really enjoyed learning vowel sounds and understanding English punctuation. I could even hear them saying the sounds once the class was over. After the grammar lesson, I let the children paint portraits of each other, it was fun and peaceful. The children really enjoy art and they are excellent artists. After the class, I watched a couple of movies with the hostel students and then I had some more clientele for hair cutting. A very simple day, but full of fun spent with the children... who knows what tomorrow may bring. Will post soon!!

A trip to the zoo

2009-07-06T01:47:00.003+05:30

A Sunday trip to the zoo with Sankar and Nabakanta

The wild deer!!!

India's famous one horned rhino

I'd rather call it liquid sunshine

2009-07-02T16:26:00.002+05:30

This morning I woke up to all the hostel girls coming in my room to make sure I was feeling better. I instantly knew that today was going to be a much better day. I peeked out of the window and saw that it was raining cats and dogs outside but it didn't matter because I was ready to get out of my room. The fever has gone away so I am functioning at a much more normal pace than I was yesterday. In preparing for the day, I noticed that I didn't hear the sound of the school children playing before the morning assembly. When I left my room to check, there was no children running, or giggling as they saw me in my nightie and my hair standing on top of my head. I was then told that the students and the teachers are taking a break so that the teachers could grade the half yearly exams by the 16th and I'm sure the weather played some factor. A small group of students did come, when I walked into the classroom I saw a group of smiling children; some of them I hadn't seen since the half yearly exams begun. They were all dressed in their normal clothes, rolled up jeans and frizzy hair from the rain, everyone was just laid back. I was greeted with an abnormally loud "good morning Maam" (the Maam I absolutely detest) as I coughed and croaked good morning back I thought "Yes, they are as excited to see me as I am to see them." In class, I sat as Uttam explained to them that they will have summer vacation until July 8th so that the teachers could finish grading the written exams in order to meet an important deadline....Of course, my poor little heart was shattered. That meant another week that I will not be able to teach the children. I tried not to think about it as I sat through the class. Uttam then shared with me that he wants to organize a cultural festival where the children get to perform their different traditional tribal dances and songs etc. at the school on the last day of their summer vacation. I am very excited to see what the children are going to perform, who knows, I may even join them in a Bihu dance or two. Class was more like fun today, we played sudoku, and learned Indian geography. Sankar, one of the hostel boys really impressed me with his knowledge of the Indian states. He was the only one in the entire group that knew all of the states by location, he will definitely be getting an award from me.
Because this was a semi free day for the children, the class ended at about 1 and I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my day. The voltage in the current was very low and I found out when using my computer that it causes electrocution so I quickly put my computer away...I have had my share of electric shocks since I have been here. The hostel children were all grinning as if they had something desperately to ask me but just couldn't muster up the strength to do so. Lipi, Uttam's sister in law, broke the ice and told me that Monika, one of the hostel girls, wanted a hair cut. I couple of weeks back I cut my hair because it was too hot and once they saw that I could cut hair and I explained to them that I had been working in a hair salon since I was 14, they wanted me to cut their hair as well. One by one the hostel girls lined up at my door to receive haircuts. I was cutting off this beautiful long hair that people in America pay to to have. The girls were all so ecstatic, and so was I. Its been so long since I've had "clientele" and to see the girls smile and swing their hair as they walked away just made it pure fun.
The day ended with a bee sting, Bihu and Karbi dances from the younger hostel girls and boys, as well as an awesome comedy performance from the hostel boys. (I had to throw the bee sting in there, I HATE bees.) Oh yeah as well as with fried fish, fried potatoes, greens, and rice...a good ol' home style dinner with an Indian twist. I sat to think about what I would do since I wouldn't be teaching and I realized, that their is so much here for me to do. Even in just giving the hostel children haircuts, I granted them with something that they don't receive often. I understood prior to coming that things would not always go as planned, so just because I am not teaching doesn't mean my purpose here is null. Smiles and thank yous from the students and Uttam have let me know that the small contributions that I have given make a difference here at the academy and that makes me smile and say thank you as well for allowing me to come and take part in their lives. My mother would always thank God for liquid sunshine whenever it is raining, and today I thought of her as I thanked Him for it too. Even on a dull rainy day, I had an amazing time with the children, I am feeling much better, and I had the time to think of alternative things to do with the children. The rain seems dreary on the outside but the blessings throughout the day makes it nothing more than wet sunshine!!!!

Some things just stick to you

2009-07-02T00:12:00.003+05:30

Yesterday there were visitors that came from the Rotary Club. While visitors come to the Academy frequently, I will never forget this one in particular. The normal conversation was held..."How do you feel here in Guwahati? How do you like the food?" Then he asked the big question, "How are you adjusting with the language barrier?" But instead of commenting on how hard it must be for me like everyone else has done, he simply said "Children understand the language of the heart, you have nothing to worry about." I will never forget his words, it was the first time in a long time that I felt like someone actually understood what I came here to do. Prior to coming, I knew that the children spoke little to no English, I knew that they have never had a volunteer come and teach them, and still I chose to come and help. Those were just small obstacles I knew that I would encounter so I mentally prepared myself for a mutual learning experience. And I must say, there are no complaints on this end, my time here has been awesome.
On Monday, the weather took a rainy change. It has rained all day every day since Monday morning, which can be semi depressing. I enjoy letting the hostel children watch dvds on my laptop when the weather is like this. They looove to watch movies. The other night, I sat with Uttam, Lipi, and the hostel students as they had a nightly meeting. It was the cutest thing ever. The main cause for the meeting was to allow the children to name the cows that Uttam's family owns, but that never happened. Instead they all talked about how their studies have improved, how their garden vegetables are growing, they discussed who would share which duties in the coming week..etc.
I guess the anticipation of getting back into the classroom really got to me. Either that, or the drastic change in weather. This morning I woke up with a high fever, a runny nose, and a cough that sounds horrible. Needless to say, I stayed in the bed all day and I didn't get to teach the children or hold the First-Aid workshop today. It is good to know that at times like these, Uttam and his family and even the hostel students are here for me. While I was in the bed today, three of the hostel girls Kalpana, Nomali, and Deepa brought me three hand-stitched hankys that they had made for me, it really meant a lot.
Its late and hopefully I will be feeling better in the morning. Will Post Soon!!

Just a quick update

2009-06-29T12:15:00.004+05:30

Sunday night was the first night in a long time that I have been able to enjoy the night sky. Now that moon has finished playing its almost to week long game of hide and seek, and because the current was out for the most part of yesterday, I was able to see the sky lit with stars with a strong light from the crescent moon. The view made me realize how much I will miss the Indian night sky when I depart in less than three weeks.
Friday, I cried for the first time since I left America. Promona left on Saturday, so the hostel students and the teachers presented us with traditional Assamese gifts. I understood that it was not time for me to leave, but I was emotionally reminded that I will be leaving a group of children that I have grown very close to over the past month. The children laughed as my eyes became teary...
Saturday Promona left, while it was sad to see her leave, I know that my journey must continue. It will be a little harder now that I do not have someone to translate for me, or explain things to me, etc. but that is all a part of my experience. I have become comfortable enough here to deal with the hardships on my own, I was just a little spoiled while Promona was here. I am continuing with some of the projects that were put on hold while Promona was here. I wanted to do art in particular with the hostel children, but Promona came to do art in general so I put some of the art related things that I had in mind on hold to allow her to complete her art teachings. The students will be done taking their exams on Tuesday and I am really excited about teaching them again. I am going to make the best out of the last bit of time that I have with them.
I have planned a workshop for the teachers to all learn about the items in the first aid kit so that they can treat the children in case of an emergency. I am anxious to participate in this workshop because so many accidents and mishaps have happened only in my short time being here, and it is crucial that the teachers know how to handle these situations after I leave. After having the workshop with the teachers, I will have the same workshop with the 9th grade students. If there is not an adult present in the case of an emergency, the older children should know what to do as well. The grade 9 students will also design the actual first aid box that will be kept in the office. I am hoping that this will all go well come the middle of the week.
Remember that picture that I put up of me getting the mahendi during the Ambubashi mela...well that very picture is what landed me in the hospital on Saturday. Because I decided to get the henna tattoo done with the stamp, I risked having an allergic/hypersensitive reaction to the combination of the metal/henna powder. My skin burned and became highly irritated, and I was afraid that it had gotten infected. Fortunately, after my trip to the hospital, I was told that it was not an infection, but merely an allergic reaction. I must say that it wasn't the best doctors visit that I have had. The doctor was very rude and did not want to give me any information before he had decided that I needed 2 injections. I had only asked what was the diagnosis and he acted as if he did not have the time to explain it to me, as a matter of fact that is what he said. Needless to say, I waited for an explanation and received the two injections along with a prescription and a " If this doesn't work, then find a dermatologist." Everything is fine now and my arm is healing well.
Yesterday it rained all day, and I woke up this morning with the same scenery. It has not been raining like it should be. I am happy because with the rain comes a nice, and much needed, cool down. I have visitors coming so I don't have time to write, but I will post again tonight!!

Shillong

2009-06-26T14:16:00.005+05:30

Saying goodbye to Shillong :(

The school children in their prep clothes

A market in Shillong City

Elephant falls

More Elephant Falls

Shillong Peak

Promona fighting with her broken umbrella

Gorgeous view of Shillong

Juicy pineapple on our way to Shillong

Sometimes internal memories are much better....

2009-06-26T12:14:00.005+05:30

These past few days have been interesting. With nothing to do because the children are testing, my life has become a boring blah. Although I have been slumming around on a daily basis, I have found time to do some projects that I had been meaning to finish for the Academy.
I have had time to think about future projects that I want to do and begin planning them. I shared with Uttam my plan to start an organization and in turn he told me some of his plans to expand the horizon of Parijat Academy. I thought that his idea was great, but when Promona and I began to talk about the financial planning that would be needed to carry out his project, he began to get discouraged and quickly changed his original plan. While I understood the frustration, I quickly explained to him that he can not allow financial burdens demote his dreams. Had I permitted the expenditures that I faced when deciding to come here hinder me, I would not be posting to this blog right now. Instead of becoming discouraged, I applied for a grant and made many fund raising plans just in case that didn't work out. When telling this to Uttam, it made me realize how I want to allow this opportunity to blossom into many others. I have small blueprints now, but whatever the case, because this is my dream I will not allow any burdens act as limitations. This was an eye-opener for me because too many times I have been told that things would not happen for me because of my financial, racial, or social background. But as I look over things now, I know that things are possible with faith and determination.

On Wednesday, Promona and I traveled to the state of Meghalaya for a day trip to Shillong. I believe I mentioned before that Shillong is near the place that receives more rainfall than any other place in the world. We set out early for the adventure and reached the trekker that would take us on the 2 1/2 hour journey. I was excited to take the trekker because I figured that i would be much more comfortable than I would have been on a bus. But I was MISTAKEN, I rode for 3 hours with a police officer sitting on my lap, a driver that seemed to be going in reverse, all in a car that smelled of old moth balls. All of this was just a small price to pay to see the beauty of Shillong. Once I reached the heart of the city, I had no idea what was to follow once we made it to the sights. We traveled to Shillong Peak and Elephant Falls, two of the major attractions. The taxi ride up the hills was beautiful, I didn't want to take pictures, it was peaceful....there were fields, with sheep, colorful flowers, and beautiful greenery; all in front of a misty foggy backdrop. I must say that it was a beautiful peaceful ride that even without pictures, I will never forget. Once we reached our destination, the sound of the rain and waterfalls were harmonious. I had never been to a place with large natural waterfalls before coming to Elephant Falls so this was an all new experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time, not only because of the sights, but the general ambiance was relaxing. Not only that, but it was also cold enough for me to wear a sweater, I hadn't felt that cool since I left Maine. I had fun and there will be pictures following this post.

Yesterday, there was a statewide bandh (strike) going on in the state of Assam so everything was shut down. Nothing was open or running, not even the public transportation. There was a protest of the radical insurgents that were being killed and placed in jail. Even if I had things to do, nothing could be done. I had never experienced a statewide strike to that extent. I have merely seen workers outside of the skyscrapers in downtown Baltimore with signs in their refusal to work. Something different...

Last night I got to watch American TV!!! I got to see some of my favorite sitcoms and laughed like I had never seen them before. It was the first time in a looonnnggg time that I had been able to just sit and veg out in front of the television. While I felt useless, I enjoyed myself. The women that weave joined me in watching the shows and laughed along with me. It reminded me so much of home, how I would sit and watch TV with my younger sister years back and even when she didn't understand the content of the show, she would laugh hysterically with me. The laughter just felt good, there is no other way of explaining it.

Uttam called a meeting with the KG and Nursery teachers and I. He wanted me to share my opinion on ways that they can enhance learning in the younger classrooms. The meeting was very fruitful and those days I spent chasing two year olds at the Childcare Center really helped me. Besides the KG teacher, the others do not have proper training in childcare or development so they aren't skilled on ways to structure the time periods for ways that are beneficial to four year old children. I was glad to share my experiences as well as the knowledge gained from my developmental psychology classes and the teachers were very receptive. Next week I will spend the day with each of the teachers to see the way things are going, I'm anxious because I do not get to work with the younger bunch of children often. Today, Uttam called a meeting with a small youth society here in Guwahati. He wishes to have a youth leadership conference, which he planned yesterday. I really want to see how this goes, and I will be sure to keep you posted!!!!

SUMMER FESTIVAL!!!!

2009-06-24T01:01:00.007+05:30

The point of the summer festival was to allow the children to participate in different art assignments outside/during school hours to be on display for an art exhibition. A segment of the festival was wall painting where the children were allowed to paint the walls of their classroom to bring color to the class and to give a personal contribution to the aura of the classroom. Parents were invited and were intrigued by the work of their own. The students were given a free day to draw and paint during the festival as sort of a relaxing period before their exams. This festival meant a lot to me because I am not able to have full conversations with the students and art projects are the best way for me to communicate with the students. I had a lot of fun and hopefully there will be another summer festival next year at Parijat Academy.

Promona and I addressing the assembly at the end of the festival, thanking the students for participating.

The finished wall artwork

Nursery and KG teachers

Face Painting

The students painting the wall

The set-up/ morning assembly

Face painting...and NO that is not water on my blouse, it was just THAT hot

The setup

Promona and I in our "lingerie" preparing for the festival

Promona helping children line up for the assembly

Ambubashi Mela

2009-06-24T00:09:00.006+05:30

Getting a henna tattoo

Jushi, a neighbor in the village, and I

Red is the color of worship

A devotee "preparing" his bong for worship

Thousands of people filled the Kamakhya

And the First Month is Now History....

2009-06-23T18:46:00.006+05:30

Have you ever been on a bus with the proper seating capacity of 40 people...but actually stuffed with probably 150 anxious individuals?? Well I have, thank God I am tall so I actually had air to breathe. Yesterday I went to the Kamakhya temple yet again for the Ambubashi Mela. The mela is a celebration for the menstrual cycle of the Mother Goddess in the Hindu religion. Thousands of devotees travel from all over the world and pack the Temple as well as the surrounding area in order to participate in the week long pooja. The experience was incredible to say in the least. I really enjoyed myself there. I got to see Sadhus some with extremely long locks that were wrapped in an upward bun, others with make-up performing and dancing. It was astonishing to see the devotion that these people have for faith, I witnessed prayers, the giving of money to give to the goddess, as well as open marijuana smoking as a part of the pooja. Even in the midst of this worshipping ceremony I was stopped to take photographs and constantly asked where I was from. I got my first henna tattoo yesterday which was pretty cool too.

The art festival was held on Saturday and it was beyond what we had all expected. I woke at 5 in the morning in order to prepare. Even at five in the morning, the heat seemed to be giving me a personal visit. I had to paint the walls that I had primed the night before so that it could be ready for the children to paint by eleven. Promona had begun to set-up the front of the academy with the children's artwork by 7. We were semi under pressure because of the time constraint. But everything worked itself out. The children really enjoyed the wall painting and were very artistic in their contributions to the mural. It was so heart-warming to see the smiles on their faces when they got to choose their color and began to paint. They all were eager to add their own personal form of artwork. I even did face painting with the nursery and KG students so that they too could actively participate in the festival. Most of them had never had it done before so they were very shy, but once they saw the outcome....they all ran at once to be next. It was extremely hot on that day, thank God the afternoon computer students (Joon, Rupam, and Kankun) started to help me out. The blouse piece of my sari was soaked, as you will see in the pictures, but I had the time of my life. Reporters had come to "shoot the festival" but when they actually arrived they wanted to shoot Promona and I teaching the children on their day of fun. The point of the festival was to allow the students to exhibit the artwork that they had been working on since Promona and I came to the Academy. I wanted to make sure the children knew that art is expressive, fun, and also a great educational experience. The children were allowed to paint the walls of the classroom to bring color to concrete walls that normally surround them. Also this Saturday was the Saturday before the children began their half-yearly exams, and the festival also served as an enjoyable break before the stress of tests for the children. The reporter was let down when I quickly told him that I would not disrupt the childrens leisure time and force them to sit and "learn" math and english texts. The festival was great, and I have told Uttam that he should make it an annual celebration for the students right before their half-yearly exams.
It is beginning to sadden me that my time here is coming to an end. Today I had a water balloon fight with the children of the hostel and it reminded me of the water balloon fight that I had with my fellow cheerleaders before coming here. I was having a great time and the children obviously enjoyed soaking their "teacher". Uttam's father is back home but he is still feeling very ill. It is really sad to see the usually live man of the house quiet and still. We are all hoping that he feels better soon.
I traveled to a nearby village a few days back to plant trees to help with the landowner's iniatives to make the land much more green. Uttam, Promona, and I all planted different types of trees to mark the beginning of the cause. We were given gamochas as the guests of honor. It was very nice to take part and contribute. That same day, we all traveled to Deepor Beel, a large bird sanctuary and wetland where migratory birds come during the the different seasons. It was a BEAUTIFUL place and I enjoyed snapping the pictures that I did. From the watchtower I was able to see the entire stretch of the wetland. There were wild buffalo, which I didn't know were present here, beautiful birds, and gorgeous butterflies. Unfortunately, because the moonson is taking longer than usual to settle in, the birds have not begun to come in large flocks, but the elephants are nearby and I should be able to see them anytime soon!!!
Spending so much time with other children makes me miss my younger brothers and sister. I watched Finding Nemo yesterday and it made me think back to when my two younger brothers, my sister, and I would all cramp into my twin sized day bed and watch it together, it was soothing to have the memory, but it mad me realizze how much I miss them. There are students here that constantly remind me of them. I miss being home and hugging them and playing with them one minute, but then fighting with them the next. I'm sure my mother will laugh when she reads this, but positive that my siblings will understand how I feel.
I am not only missing my brothers and sister, but I am also missing the school children. They are taking their half-yearly exams this week so there is no teaching, not even an after school computer class a.k.a. a fun visit from Joon, Rupam, and Kankun. I feel semi-useless...especially after spending this entire day lounging around the house with my college sweatpants and t-shirt. Next week will be better and more eventful!!! Tomorrow we are supposed to be travelling to Shillong in the state of Meghalaya. I am anxious to see the contrast in the life of these people because the state is greatly influenced by the British. I am sure I will have a remarkable time and i will be sure to let everyone know how it went!!!

Deepor Beel

2009-06-23T16:19:00.007+05:30

We took a trip to the Deepor Beel bird sanctuary. It was an amazingly beautiful experience. Because this is elephant season, the elephants frequently come to the wetland to take mud baths. I did not get to experience that this time but hopefully I will be able to see them!

Wild Buffalo

Huge lily pad type things lol.

Pre-Summer Festival

2009-06-19T23:19:00.004+05:30

I honestly can not believe that I have been here for just a month. I just realized that this whole thing was not a dream two weeks ago. Then, it had settled in that I was blessed to receive an opportunity as such to do things I love to do. It seems like only yesterday I got an email from Susan saying that I was a Global citizens Grant recipient which allowed me to take the first step in my international service dreams.

Although I have been here only one month, I am so comfortable I often feel like I have lived here for years. I wake up at five in the morning to the sound of roosters, I eat with my hands, I am used to the smell of cows and their excretions , I walk the village alone, I'm allowed to help in the kitchen...I have even gotten used to looking out for hundreds of hopping toads and cows that escape the shelter during late night, blurry-eyed walks to the toilet. This is a home away from home for me and I am really happy to be here.

Yesterday Uttam's father had to be sent to the hospital. He had fallen ill over the past week and doctors recommended sugery for him to get better. Everyone was a little tense and extremely worried. Uttam has been very busy getting things together for the students midterm exams, taking care of his fathers with frequent visits to the doctor, and helping Promona and I prepare for the sumemr festival. I admire the passion that he puts into the school through all of these things.. WIth techers coming late, leaving early, or nit showing at all, makes sure to be three for the children at all times. Since I have been here he has been like a big brother to me. He trieshis best to make sure that I am safe and comfortable and while at times it can be overbearing I understand that he wants to make sure I make it back to America in one peice. He always finds a way to make me laugh with his Bihu dance or robotic dance and has practically taken me in as a member of his family. I am grateful that things have turned out this way because prior to coming, I hadn't the slightest idea of how things would go.

Today is the summer festival and I have been working diligently this entire week in preparation for it. The work would have been much more pleasant if it hadn't been 200 degrees in the shade for the past week. I honestly felt a film of something on the surface of skin at the end of each day. We have done many different types of artwork with the children, from drawing to painting to papier mache. The 8th and 9th graders did papier mache and I honestly wanted to papier mache them at the end of the project. The boys decided that it would be nice to play kickball with the freshly covered balloons and the girls were afraid of the flour water mixture so they made a huge mess trying to prevent it from getting on their uniforms. Anyway, I am super excited about the festival, I got up at five this morning to paint the classrooms so that they could be ready for the students at ten and Promona and I decorated the entire outdoor entrance to the school. Today is going to be a good day...the children are amazed at seeing their own work displayed.

I will definitely put up the pictures from the festival as soon as the day is over!!!!

The time is flying!!!!

2009-06-17T20:14:00.001+05:30

The time here at the Academy is going by quickly. It is approaching one month since I have been in India and things are going extremely well. Over the weekend, I met a lot of amazing people and I was able to see a new aspect of the city of Guwahati. I have engaged with families of the village and seen the street children during my bus/trekker rides through the city to see the life of the underprivileged, but this time I was able to see the more of the privileged society.
I spent the weekend with a man named Kaushik Das. He is the founder of a NGO called the Atma Nirbhar-Ek Challenge. His organization aims to promote economic rehabilitation of the disabled through the packaging and marketing of tea. The organization is amazing and I had the pleasure of meeting the workers during my stay there. Some of the women and men were deaf, blind, mute, mentally retarded, and amputees. The workers were joyful to meet someone from America and although most of them could not speak to me, they made me feel very welcomed and were very expressive in their iniatives to let me know. I watched the employees work and they continuously smiled and made jokes with each other as the time passed. It was very joyful to see them happy and able to earn a living.
Kaushik also introduced Promona and I to a lot of other people, for the first time I had Punjabi food...which was AMAZING...at guy's home, I met teachers, architects, all types of different people. And they were excited to hear about my works as well as the works of Uttam at the Parijat Academy.
I must say that during my weekend stay away I really missed the Academy. I felt like a child that was going to her first sleepover. I have been taken in by Uttam and his family and this feels like a home to me. Every night I hear the hostel students reading aloud as they do their homework and it just makes me smile...but this past weekend I didnt hear that sound. Instead I could only hear heavy rains on the tin roof and cars honking. I went into Kaushiks bathroom and didn't even notice that there was running hot water until after my shower...I have only been here for a month but it no longer makes a difference anymore. I am happy at the Academy with cold showers, because when I come outside, I am guaranteed to be greeted with a smiling face. All in all, I really got "homesick" because it was a different experience for me. This is all a new environment for me so the mere fact that I was invited to stay the night at another man's house that is not married and does not have children was extremely different from anything that I have encountered. The people here in Assam are very hospitable, they always invite you for tea, meals, anything....but it isnt the same in America. I had to do major mental preparations before the weekend getaway, even though I was really homesick, I enjoyed myself!!
In meeting people during the weekend, Promona and I were invited to a couple of schools to speak to the students. I did not know much about the schools but today I visited the first one. I was picked up in a fancy car, so I assumed that wherever I was going was pretty far away and that is why there was a need to send drivers. To my surprise the school was located not even 5 minutes away from the Academy...The school is an English medium private school called Sanskriti and was built better than some of the buildings that are located on my college campus. The principal of the school greeted Promona and I let us know that we would be speaking to them during their morning assembly and then having a question and answer session with the older students once the assembly was done. When speaking to this large group of students ranging from nursery to grade 12, I felt so small. I felt as though what I had to say would not be important to such a privileged class of children, but then I thought of the things that I had planned to say to them. I wanted to make sure to tell them that everyone can engage in experiences like this, even if it is a small contribution, you never know how much of a difference it can make. The principal really wanted us to interact with the children because all of them come from a rich class where things have always have been handed to them, and a lot of them have never been introduced to the social work/volunteering sector. I realized that I should not be nervous to speak to these children because out of the crowd of probably about 500 students, I never know how many will be receptive to my ideas and contributions and may decide to embark on ventures such as my own. The students had brilliant questions and I enjoyed answering each of them, hopefully I was able to give the children a fresh perspective.
Being at Kaushiks house and Sanskriti school made me realize the evident dynamics in this place. Just 5 minutes away from Parijat Academy, a school started by a man that was determined to educate the poor and enroll school drop-outs; there is a school like Sanskriti which was started the same year as the academy. When staying at Kaushiks house, I was amazed by the architecture of his house and the amount of land that he had, but one morning when I was being nosey, I peeked out of the back window only to see mounds of trash, slums, and children with no shoes playing in this hazardous environment. It is amazing how literally just beyond your backyard someone can be living extremely different and one is not fully aware. It made me reflect on how important it is to spend the time to learn about others and know of ways you can help. I understand that sometimes there is just nothing that can be done, but I believe that awareness can make a personal difference.
The children have been preparing for their half-yearly exams this week so I have not been able to teach a proper class :( . I have been doing some small things that will contribute to the academy and the teachers. Right now Promona and I are preparing the children for an Art Festival that will be held this Saturday. In place of our class time, at the end of the, day since Monday, we have been working with the classes on different art projects. The children really enjoy completing the art assignments and I really enjoy working with them because I can see how much they have really opened up to me. The students now speak to me in Assamese, full conversations, I think that they hope I can understand them....they even go through the process of drawing pictures and using signals to help me understand. It is amazing to me because now I fully understand how they must have felt on the first day when I entered the classroom speaking English like they would understand. Today Promona and I began a papier mache project with the 8th and 9th grade students...I never knew that high school children could be soooo messy. I actually enjoy working with the upper classes because most of the boys come to get computer lessons after school....the girls are still EXTREMELY shy. They avoid interaction as much as they can so it is sometimes tough to get through to them. I am really excited about the exhibition on Saturday, we have invited everyone that we have met and hopefully the children's confidence will be boosted once they see their own work exhibited.
I wore a sari for the first time this weekend, which was absolutely cool. I had always wanted to wear a sari, well before my journey to India. While it may look easy wear, wrapping it is not an easy task, I'm sure I sweated more wrapping it than I did the entire day while wearing the sari. The very first time that I wore one, two of the workers from the Atma Nirbhar had to help me to wrap it because I am sure I looked like a mummy. I was very self-conscious because it feels like it can fall off at anytime and my stomach and my back was partially out. I adjusted to wearing it and I wore one again when I took a trip to the city this week. I also witnessed a pooja for the first time at the house. I was very interested in what was going on and Uttam took the time to explain it to me as well as different beliefs that people of his native tribe and his household have. It was a pretty cool experience.
I have lots of pics to put up of scenery and the children's art.

Will post soon!!!!

Recent Pictures

2009-06-15T21:32:00.005+05:30

Promona and I with some workers of the Atma Nirbhar Ek Challenge

The workers packaging tea

A boat/restaurant alongside the Brahmaputra River

A small island in the Brahmaputra

Some of the women that stay to with the Teron family that weave to make production

My first class with the nursery students

Mask making with the hostel children

They really enjoyed the mask making!!

Nomali and Monika working hard on their masks.

Being Different

2009-06-11T23:29:00.003+05:30

These past couple of days have been critical for me. The third week of my visit to Assam is vastly approaching and it seems like I have been here for much longer. I have become comfortable with the children, Uttam's family, the village, even the city. Things seem to be more natural, more like a second home to me.
I have gotten used to the stares, when I first got here they seemed deathening...I would politely smile as people stared. Then, the stares became uncomfortable; but now I see them in a new light. They remind me that I am different and while being an extreme minority causes discomfort, it also reminds me that I have taken a chance that few take. I have stepped far away from my comfort zones in my American life to help people that are "different" from me. I am slowly realizing that me being different is what defines who I am and what I have done throughout my life. I look back and think, statistically and based on the childhood that I had, I should not be in India right now, I shouldn't be attending the college that I attend, nor should I have been given the many opportunities that I've recieved in my lifetime. But it is because I am blessed, I have chosen to be different, chosen to step outside the small box I call Baltimore, that I am here. Normality has no place in my passion and I'll never let it be used as a descriptor of me. So when people ask me where I am from, when interviewers ask me "What made you come to this poor, trouble torn village," when the city people stare and try to "discreetly" take pictures of me on their camera phones....I no longer feel uncomfortable. I know that I am different from everyone here, I dont need a stare or an awkward question to remind me, I am learning to embrace it. I am not sure what it means to be different yet, but I know its better than being normal.
This morning was what I call a "bucket morning," meaning there was no running water so I had to use bucket water from a well to wash today. Uttam thinks that I will feel bad and be upset at these things, but I always explain to him that I understand the circumstances, I understood them before I came and I am just happy to have somewhere to wash lol. These small things remind me of how blessed my life has been thus far. There were heavy rains last night, but by morning, the ground was dry and it was HOT.
I have been spending a great deal of time with the hostel children lately. Today we played badmington and did wheel barrow races!!! These are some of the strongest children that I have ever met in my life. Ranging from the age of 6 to 14 these children are staying 15 km away from their homes in order to recieve free education. I watch as 14 y/o Monika, the oldest of the group, looks after the children as they are all staying at the hostel. Some of the children have a brother or a sister in the hostel with them, but some of them are alone. Together they make a small family and really enjoy each other's company. I look back and remember how I cried when I went away for college alone, and I see these YOUNG children that are away from their parents, that only go home twice a year, are as happy as they can be. They may not have proper housing and bathrooms but they are appreciative because they understand that it could be much worse for them at home. I commend the hostel students on their strength and I also commend Uttam for taking these students in so that they could be properly educated instead of having to stay in their village and work to bring in money for the family. The other day we made masquerade type masks with feathers and glitter, they had never seen masks like that before. As I showed them ways in which they could make the masks, they seemed to be in awe; and once they had made the masks themselves they were estatic. The artwork that we make together is truly a form of communication for me. I can see them happy and they are super anxious to learn new things so it makes me happy. Sometimes a smile is the only type of communication I need to know that I am doing the right thing...that helping children is MY thing lol.
Lately, I have been playing nurse Kelly....and I absolutely love it. These children here do not have proper health care, and the Academy does not have the proper first aid in case of emergencies. I have gladly donated my first aid kit to the school. Today alone, a fight was broken up between two nursery students which resulted in a bloody nose and busted lip, another child in the nursery class came to class with a MAJOR burn on his arm and a busted head, and one of the hostel students was running a very high fever. The adults were not certain what exactly to do to help the children so I gladly used the things that I brought here to help them. I talked with Uttam at the end of the day and he explained to me that the parents don't know what to do, nor can they afford the medicine to take care of the children properly in the case of these events.....these things are common in this village. He proposed that soon, I sit with the teachers and show them all of the things that are in the first-aid box that I have and how/when to properly use them with the children. I totally agree, the well-being of the children is really important and directly effects their performance in class.
The children's half yearly exams are coming up soon and this has affected my teaching here. The other teachers like the ideas I have for English teaching but I don't believe they feel comfortable with me teaching so close to the half-yearly exams. I went to teach my normal second grade English class and the teacher came in and told me no, that he will teach it. It is kind of a let down because I came here to teach, especially when the teachers are not as reluctant to let Promona teach the English classes because she can communicate with the children by speaking her native language. Math is generally taught in Assamese here, so I will be taking a break from the math classes as well as the students prepare for their exams. When teachers don't show up, I am able to teach the children an extra English class, apart from the one that they have taken with their normal teachers. Hopefully the teachers will become more comfortable with me fairly soon because I have made lessons to teach using the half-yearly exams that they have shown me. In the mean time I have been making posters with mathematical and grammatical lessons on them to be posted in the classrooms and taking the nursery classes because the teacher has been sick.
Its getting late, and I have class in the morning but I will post pictures soon!!!

LINKS

2009-06-10T22:05:00.005+05:30

Here are some important links to websites that have noted/contributed to my stay here at the Parijat:

Funding and organization of my volunteer project was partially provided by the Global Citizens Grant of Bowdoin College: www.bowdoin.edu/mckeen-center

To learn more about ways that you can help other organizations through service visit: http://www.omprakash.org/
To learn more about Parijat Academy visit: http://www.parijatacademy.org/ or http://www.parijatacademy.blogspot.com/

Interview from Youthfolio: http://www.citizenside.com/en/videos/miscellaneous/2009-06-06/16818/american-girl-teaching-in-india.html

An Article from The Times of India: https://mail.bowdoin.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.morungexpress.com/regional/24345.html

Scenery, Kamakhya, and the Kalakshetra cultural center

2009-06-09T21:25:00.006+05:30

Another structure at the cultural center

A gateway at the cultural center

A stone stairway at the cutural center

Another visit to the Kamakhya temple

Some of the architecture of the Kamakhya

The ninth grade boys "rock climbing" lol

On the way to the temple there is this one lonely tree....I think its pretty cool

The boys led us to the gateway to the temple of the mother goddess

Some scenery walking through the village

A break from teaching

2009-06-09T19:56:00.003+05:30

The past couple of days have been "free days" I guess, Sunday there was no school, and Monday was a holiday so there wasnt school either....And then today a local engineer came to show me around different parts of Guwahati. While it is nice to explore the city, I really missed my kiddies for the past couple of days. I cant wait to get back to work tomorrow. I have a new lesson for the 1st-4th graders :). We are paying special attention to the computer skills of the 8th and 9th graders so I will be busy preparing computer lessons for them to complete in the afternoon after school!! It excites me how much they have learned from the first lesson I taught. When I watch them on the computers I see them using all the shortcuts and formatting tools to make different types of documents. The boys are also speaking to me more, I told them today that they didnt have to call me Ma'am....that they could call me Kelly (which is the name that they call me because my first name is very difficult for them to say). They were happy to hear that, I feel like we are too close in age for them to call me ma'am.
I am planning some artwork for the hostel children to do for the rest of the week as well as preparing grammar posters to put in the classrooms for the middle school and highschool students. I believe that these will help the students as they are learning English, and colorful posters will also bring light to the classrooms!!! The half-yearly exams are coming soon for the students and grammatical reminders posted in the classrooms will help them in their studies. I am slowly trying to introduce the children to the American way of teaching English, remembering sklls that my elementary school teachers taught me in order to instill these things in my memory. It is hard to teach English to the children when they do not understand me so I try my best to break it down to them with symbols, pictures, role play, WHATEVER, lol and then I can ask them in Assamese "Do you understand," once I get the reassuring head nods, I know that a method has worked.
Today I visited Kalakshetra cultural center in Guwahati with the engineer, Promona and Uttam. It was a beauriful place full of Northeastern Indian culture. There were museums and art galleries with amazing artwork. Afterwards, we went to a very nice Chinese restaurant in the more wealthy part of the city. The food was amazing and the service was out of this world. I had a really good time learning about the culture of India and exploring new parts of the city. Now I have new places in mind when I want to venture out on my own.
The other night there was a full moon with not a cloud in the sky. I was amazed, I am constantly amazed at the scenery here. There are always stars in the sky when the skies are clear, I can see the sagitarrius constellation as well the scorpio and the great bear. Its so cool. For the past couple of days, there have been huge storks flying over Uttams home. Uttam has explained to me that there will be a lot of different species of birds migrating here because of the upcoming monsoon season. I have to keep my camera ready because I have neer seen things like this in my life. I am sure my brother (Mr. National Geographic himself) will apreciate all of the pictures.
TIme for dinner now, will post again soon!!

A pretty good Sunday

2009-06-07T21:34:00.004+05:30

Today was a pretty good day, I woke to no current but it was okay because heavy rains during the night made it feel very cool. I believe that the monsoon is here to stay for the rest of the season, there has been rain everyday for the past 3 days. Today the children didnt have school so Uttam thought that it would be a good idea for the 9th grade students to come for a communication workshop. The younger children have opened up to me and will interact with me...but it is harder to get this same interaction from the older children. The 9th graders in particular....most of the boys come after school to learn computer skills from me so they are good with interacting but the girls are really shy. Either that or they are going through that "I'm a cool high school student phase" lol. This morning I went to go to the 9th grade classroom only to find that there were no girls there. Only the 9th grade boys, most of them I am familiar with. It was a little discouraging, but we still had a good time....I told them to paint whatever they liked and they did just that. I was amazed at some of the artwork....I can barely draw a straight line and there are little Picasso's at the Parijat Academy. It was fun and at the end of the art session/workshop, we hung the paintings in the classroom. It was a good way to bring color to the class to make the children feel more welcomed, especially because it is the students own artwork. There wasnt that much communication, but the few words that were spoken were well enough for me. I remember back to my first day here when I got head nods and shy smiles....anything is progress as far as I am concerned :)
I had some interesting bouts with bugs today. I can do the spoiders, crickets, and grasshoppers. But I dont care how much city life I have endured, I am still terrified cockroaches!!!!! And I am also afraid of bees. This morning I was getting my clothes off of the line because I had washed them the morning before....when I went to shake the clothes out to make sure there werent any bugs on them....I disturbed this HUGE beehive. Needless to say I took off running, I havent ran that fast since I ran on the track team in high school. The bees were coming after me, and I took off running, it was the worse. Then, this afternoon I was having a conversation with Uttam and Promona...and cockroach the size of a gecko with antennas longer than the hair on my head was crawling up my skirt. I screamed, and what made it worse was that it flew away and began flying around my head. I almost died...really lol. But I am fine now, Uttam gently picked it up by its leg and took it outside. They are still laughing at me :).
Tomorrow we are supposed to be going to Shillong. I am really excited!!! Shillong gets more rainfall per year than any other place in the world. I will make sure to wear my rainboots. Today I let the hostel girls braid my hair, they are really good at it and I am very much interested in hairstyling. I explained to them that I worked in a beauty salon back home and they all wanted me to braid their hair...they even want to use my straightener because they had never seen one before.
I am learning a lot of Assamese history and Hindi tradition and history as well. Promona and I went to visit the Kamakhya temple again today...this time I actually saw the temple. People here are very religious and I learned a lot about Hindi goddesses and temples. IT is really cool to learn about these things!!
I am really enjoying my time here, this is my family away from home. I really miss home...time is flying by...

Some teaching pictures

2009-06-07T13:26:00.005+05:30

Being Interviewed by the times of India
Caught off guard drawing with the 4th graders

Reading to the 9th graders

Reading with a 1st grader

Sitting in the library with other teachers

2 Weeks Later

2009-06-06T14:06:00.003+05:30

Today marks the 2nd week that I have been at the Parijat Academy. The current went out yesterday so I was not able to post :( but today everything is up and running fine :)

I only taught one class today because today is a half day and I did some preparing for the meeting. But it went well. Yesterday, one of the small children in the 4th grade came up to me and started speaking to me in Assamese. I couldnt understand a word she was saying but it made me soooo happy because the children are now taking initiative to come and talk to me. I dont have to fight to get a simple " the dog ran" out of them. I got Promona to translate and she was asking me questions about where I was from and what I like to do.... and telling on students that were running around in the class lol. Today I did an activity with the 3rd grade math class where practiced the 2 and 3 multiplication tables by having 10 students say the solution whenever they heard their particular problem. The children were eager to participate and everyone wanted a turn. It was awesome...and I was happy because I actually am having a good time teaching the children.

For the past two days news reporters have come to interview me....while it may be a nice way to give the Parijat some publicity, it can be very annoying to ruin the daily schedule of the school because people want to record and interview. It went ok but they had problems because I did not want to interrupt classes in order to pose as if I was teaching for the media. It was really confusing to the children because I would interupt their hindi class and just promptly begin teaching English for the media....and because they did not complete it all yesterday, they had to come back today to finish. I am glad that it is over.

Yesterday there were heavy rains for about 2 hours straight. I mean heavy heavy downpours...it took 2hrs for it to slack up and then there was light showers. All the while there was no electricity because the current had gone out. The rains had caused the roof of the girls hostel to cave in. The hostel is made out of bamboo walls and a tin roof, without fans. Hopefully within the coming years, the school will be able to raise money to provide better housing for the children that are staying in the hostel.

Today we had the first teacher workshop. I must say it went well!! Uttam cautioned Promona and I that we should understand that these teachers are older and have recieved their degrees so that we should keep that in mind when we were presenting our ideas, but we totally understood that prior to entering the meeting. I took the time to explain to teachers effective ways to break apart English text to teach the lessons , encourage interaction, find out exactly what the children dont understand, promote retention, and most importantly HAVE FUN. They were very receptive and even went on to ask me ways in which I would carry this out in class. I showed them and they thought the ideas were pretty good, and they understood the points that I was trying to make. This made me really happy because Uttam was telling me about how the cildren are not passing test marks. Hopefully if the teachers take into account some of the strategies and it will have a positive effect on the children.

The current went out again today...actually in the middle of me finishing this post. Thank God I saved lol. I went into the city today to go to the internet cafe and had some interesting experiences. This was the first time I had ever gone into the city on my own, so it was pretty cool, despite the fact that I was toatally violated by a man on the bus and had to assault him in order to protect myself. Going to the city is pretty fun, it was cool to get turned around (lost lol)because I learned more about the city. I also bought a nice sari for my mother so hopefully she will like it ;). I am headed back to the school now where there is no current and cloudy skies because it rained heavily for about 2 hours straight again today. Sometimes not having a current is nice, its peaceful and it gives me time to reflect. But then when I have to go outside to use the bathroom I wish there were lights again because I cant see a thing. And even with a flashlight Im too scared to go on my own lol I know this is sad because I am an adult and I should not be afraid of the dark but when the dark is mixed with thousands of noisy bugs, small lizards, huge spiders, random roosters, cows, and birds....Im sorry but I will just have to be a chicken lol.

Will post again soon

Pictures of Art Projects and News Interviews

2009-06-04T21:29:00.003+05:30

Grading the children's homework assignments

Teaching 3rd grade students

Promona and I with the news reporters

Being interviewed by the local assamese news station

The children created masks with paint

So did Promona and I....I realized how much I missed fingerpainting

2009-06-04T10:23:00.000+05:30

Things are going well here in Guwahati. It has been extremely hot lately. On Monday, another volunteer came from Kolcata named Promona. Uttam had told me that she was coming but he didnt tell me that she would be staying for a month. When I found this out I was very excited. We are the same age and she speaks fluent English, so now I have someone that I can be social with. She speaks Bangoli but she doesnt understand much Assamese so we both are affected by the language barrier. Having someone here to relate to and talk to makes the time much more easy.
While the children are opening up like small flowers, the teachers still seem a little hesitant to talk, maybe because they dont speak fluent english, or maybe they are shy... I dont know. Because I do not speak Asssamese and I understand that it is difficult for the children to learn what I am teaching. I use a lot of interactive assignments using groups of children, role play, dictation, objects, etc so that the children can understand and retain the concepts and have a lot of fun. I believe that it is important to imagine yourself as he child and think "will I ACTUALLY keep this information this way??" The teachers teach English to the children by assigning them book work and speaking to them in Assamese. This is not helpful for the students to actually learn EnglishBecause of this Uttam proposed that we (Promona and I) put together a communication workshop for the teachers. This will be an excellent way for me to show the teachers different teaching styles that will enhance the children's learning...and make it more enjoyable for both the teacher and the student. I am really excited about this!!
I am learning Assamese slowly. It is actually kind of cool. I can say some things and when I say them, all the children smile in disbelief lol.
Tomorrow there will be more news reporters coming to interview me about my experience and my choice to come to Parijat Academy. Im a little nervous...but things should be ok. Some came on Tuesday and it was fine. I have kiddies to teach now....but I will post again tomorrow!!

A few photos of my time here at the Parijat Academy so far.

2009-06-03T23:08:00.001+05:30

Children drawing in the classrooms

With the hostel children and some visitors

I taught the children how to make flowers using colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners

The street monkeys

Birdseye view from Kamakhya

A viewof all of Guwahati when walking to the Khamakhya temple

The entrance to the Kamakhya temple

A view of the Brahmaputra River

My first day of teaching the children

A young girl from Assam came to visit and presented me with a Gamocha

After school artwork with the children from the hostel

The kitchen

My first day of teaching, the children are assembling for morning prayer

A small cow shelter outside of where I stay.

Over a week has past!!!

2009-06-02T15:12:00.000+05:30

I have been at the Parijat Academy for a little over a week and sooo much has happened.
When I first got here, I was nervous. It was all like a dream to me, never had I imagined that I would be given an opportunity to travel to another country to volunteer. This was really unreal, a very different culture, with very different people. The childen here were very shy when they first saw me, they didnt speak much...instead they gave shy smiles and covered their faces. When I entered the classrooms I was amazed at all bright smiles and loud voices that I heard welcome me with "Good Morning Madam"....Were these the same children that were afraid to look my way lol. This was the assurance that I needed that everything would work itself out. As the week went on, I jumped from grade 1 to grade 9 reading and math, and the children became very comfortable with me. They even started to answer my questions.
Within the first week, because it is so rare for American tourists to come to NE India, I was featured in the Times of India newspaper and on a local FM radio station, (BIG 92.7). It was a great experience, people are so interested in the reasoning behind me choosing Assam rather than the places that attract tourists, or why I chose to come to India instead of working at home for the summer to make money. And the answer is simple to me, I chose a rural environment because I wanted to fully understand the children's struggle that I am helping and I am passionate about helping children...to me the benefit of what I am doing is more important than the conditions that I will have to live in while I am here.
Uttam, the principal and founder of the school has taken me around the city of Guwahati. We have been to many places and I got to see the real beauty that is often looked over when people think about India. The streets are very different and much more dirty than those of the US, but the culture is profound and the views of the mountain ranges just beyond the river shows that beauty still lies here. Uttam has showed me the Kamakhya temple...we climbed to te very top of the hills leading to the temple, and we could see the entire city of Guwahati. It was A-MAZ-ING . I am still trying to get used to walking on the left side of the street, there are many days that I almost get hit by vehicles lol.
I am just getting over strep throat....I have gotten it before, but it really sucked to have it at this time. The weather is really hot here, and at times (it seems to be on the hottest days) there will be no current, which provides running water and electricity. For two days, I was in the bed with high fever and throat pains and there was no current at the time. Uttam and his family really tok care of me while I was ill. They were all really worried, but I knew what was going on so I had to reassure them that I would be ok and it was no need for me to go to the hospital. I had proper medicine to treat this so everything would go fine. I was really pleased to see the hospitality that I recieved from Uttams family from the minute that I stepped foot on Parijat Academy's campus, but the care that I received while I was ill made me feel at home. Even the hostel children came to make sure I was ok and brought me cups of warm water. I felt safe and I knew that I would be alright.
Today started a new school week for me, the current is back and the children are smiling....it makes me happy. Will post again soon!!!

First Blog Post

2009-06-01T19:35:00.000+05:30

Hello Everyone,
I decided to do a summer volunteer project at the Parijat Academy in Guwahati, India. Parijat Academy is a small non-profit school established about 5 yearss ago. The school seeks to provide free and equal education opportunities to underprivleged youth. Parijat is located in a remote village where at times there is no running water or electricity. When searching for a place to volunteer, it was very important to me that I would be able to take part in their lifestlye so that I could better understand what the families in these parts are going through.
I am teaching english and math while I am here. As well as doing various art projects with the children that stay in the hostels and teaching computer skills to students in the 8th and 9th grade. I have been here for a week and at first the children were very shy, but now they are opening up and it is becoming a little easier for me. The children do not speak fluent enlgish, so there is a huge language barrier. I am currently teaching the older students ways to enhance dictation and reading skills.

I will post more soon!!!