On Monday, January 19th, we wrapped up another program in India. By any way you can measure it, our trip to South India was successful. In the end, we taught our water safety education program to 45 different classes with a combined instruction time of 46 hours and 15 minutes. We taught 2,062 children how to be safe around water, basic rescue skills, and CPR. The schools and orphanages we taught at were very enthusiastic about our program and are looking forward to future visits from Swim India.
Our volunteers also returned with valuable lessons learned. The comment I heard the most towards the end of the trip was that everyone was so amazed at how friendly and hospitable the Indian people are. We were invited into countless homes, given gifts by people less fortunate than us, and treated to several home made Indian dinners. The volunteers learned what bad driving really looks like and how to perform a perfect head bob!
We were also fortunate enough to do two interviews for local newspapers in Kerala. One was for the New Indian Express English daily in Ernakulam/Kochi. You can read the article here. The other was for a Malayalam language daily newspaper called the Malayala Manorama based in Kozhikode.
With the trip behind us, we're already looking ahead to a successful 2010. We're currently working hard on our banquet on March 6th. Also, we are planning two trips abroad- one in August and another next January. We are looking into funding the construction of several swimming pools in some of our program areas in South India so that we'll be able to teach children and train instructors in swimming during future visits.
I want to thank everyone for their support and hard work. Without it, we would not be where we are today.
Namaste, Ben
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Take a look!
Here are the pictures we promised from our earlier blog! They're lots of fun!
~Nicole, Matt, Shawn, Jenna, and Erin
Yoga on the Beach!
~Nicole, Matt, Shawn, Jenna, and Erin
Yoga on the Beach!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Moments
Yesterday after my flight back to Chennai, I met up with Kristyn and Bree’s group. Kristyn, Rick, and I went to the Balagurukulam Orphanage. There the children ranged from 3 months old to 16 years old and we taught the children that were 3 years old to 14 years old. Most of the children there didn’t speak English so we used a translator, but the older ones knew quite a bit and were asking us tons of questions before and after we taught. After the class many of the students started to pick up the few toys they had (like a jump rope) and used them to practice some of the rescues we taught them, it was so cute and they did it perfect every time. Most of the children there are abandoned and many of the older kids have to help feed and care for the younger ones, they’re like one gigantic family. They loved us and when it was time for us to leave the children gave us hugs and kisses; they didn’t want us to go. They were all so sweet!
I miss my group! And it has only been a day. I hope all is well with them and look forward to seeing them in the States and hearing their stories. I leave to start my long flight back to the States at 4 am tomorrow morning and go back to the U of A on Wednesday, so until then we will venture around Chennai. Thanks to everyone who helped me get here; this has been such a rewarding experience! I really had a great time and don’t want to go. I am truly going to miss India and I can’t wait to come back!
~Nicole
I miss my group! And it has only been a day. I hope all is well with them and look forward to seeing them in the States and hearing their stories. I leave to start my long flight back to the States at 4 am tomorrow morning and go back to the U of A on Wednesday, so until then we will venture around Chennai. Thanks to everyone who helped me get here; this has been such a rewarding experience! I really had a great time and don’t want to go. I am truly going to miss India and I can’t wait to come back!
~Nicole
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Goodbye is Hard to Say
Today was a lot of fun. We visited two orphanages, a little over 85 children and none of them knew how to speak English so we used a translator. One was close to the center of the city and the other was in a more rural part. The children loved what we taught and were so excited to talk with us after the class and we even played a little ‘football’ (soccer) and they posed for several pictures. They all asked us to come back next year and seemed very receptive to the information we taught them.
We were then taken to a home near by and shown 6 foot bats. They were a sight to see! Then the Ben, Shawn, and Matt were given Mundu (skirt like bottoms) and then they were able to try homemade pawn. The pictures will be soon to follow once we find a computer that can support it. Then we were taken to a traditional house that has been around since 1885 and been in the same family! The tour was great! Then we were taken up into the near by forest and got to see monkeys. We were even able to feed them right out of our hands. Overall it was a very eventful day and we all had so much fun. Tomorrow Nicole leaves for Chennai too meet up with Bree’s group and will teach in the afternoon, and the rest of us will teach here one last time and then head for Ernakulam. Tonight is our last night together as a group, we are all sad it is coming to an end. We had such a great time on this trip and look forward to working together in the future. Goodbye from Calicut!
~Nicole, Shawn, Jenna, Erin, Matt, and Ben
We were then taken to a home near by and shown 6 foot bats. They were a sight to see! Then the Ben, Shawn, and Matt were given Mundu (skirt like bottoms) and then they were able to try homemade pawn. The pictures will be soon to follow once we find a computer that can support it. Then we were taken to a traditional house that has been around since 1885 and been in the same family! The tour was great! Then we were taken up into the near by forest and got to see monkeys. We were even able to feed them right out of our hands. Overall it was a very eventful day and we all had so much fun. Tomorrow Nicole leaves for Chennai too meet up with Bree’s group and will teach in the afternoon, and the rest of us will teach here one last time and then head for Ernakulam. Tonight is our last night together as a group, we are all sad it is coming to an end. We had such a great time on this trip and look forward to working together in the future. Goodbye from Calicut!
~Nicole, Shawn, Jenna, Erin, Matt, and Ben
Friday, January 9, 2009
Lessons learned in India won't soon be forgotten
Well this is my first time blogging since being here and I'll try not to bore you for too long. I got to India excited for the unknown. We arrived here and I was ready to go. Unfortunately my luggage was lost (for the next 6 days) but the Indian way of life must have already rubbed off on me, so I just went with it. Thankfully the people in this amazing group were kind enough to share with me the things I needed.
The days of teaching we have had have been wonderful. All of the students are able to retain the information we have taught them in a short period of time (I'm not sure I would be able to do that). They are all very polite and stand every time you enter a room. This city, Calicut, does not see as many tourists as where we where so the students today were very enthusiastic when they saw us. Everyone wanted to shake our hands and get our autographs. I guess the girls had never seen, or at least not that many, women wearing “American” clothing and were fascinated by myself, Jenna and Nicole. I even got asked if I was married a few times! (Probably because of my age…)
There are many culture shocks being in a country like this (like the one above) and I guess the biggest one has been just how hospitable everyone has been. When you read about people "back in the day" giving guests everything they had you don't realize that some people still live this way. We have been given so many great experiences from people that we didn't know; people that decided they liked what our organization was doing and then went above and beyond what any of us had expected them to do. The people from the schools haven’t just taken us to where we were teaching, but have opened themselves, and their home (India, not house) up to us. They have shown us the true experience of being in India. We have been given countless tours of amazing places and this morning we were even able to take a yoga class from a master yogi, all because of the men Ben had emailed. This has definitely been a memorable experience. The kindness of people in this country has been astounding and I am very thankful to be here.
--Erin
Moving On
Tuesday was our last day teaching in Ernakulam. The students were great and we miss our new friends. Wednesday we went to Vypeen Island and went to the beach, and ended the day on Fort Cochin. Thursday Ben met us at 5am after an all night train and then we immediately caught the bus from Ernakiulam to Calicut. After the 5 hour bumpy ride we met our guides and they took us to our hotel and they gave us a short tour of the city.
Today we woke up at 530am and we given a beginners yoga class by a yogi master who teaches other yoga teachers around the world. We had this yoga class on the beach and were able to watch the sunrise. We all really enjoyed it! Then we got ready and taught at two schools today;Vedavyasa Vidyalayam Secondary School and G.V.H.SS For Girls Nadakkavu, and we taught...drum role please...8 classes and over 350 students. The students we so excited and they were great learners. The students would come up to us before and after our classes to shake our hands and ask our names, they all we fascinated by us! Tomorrow we teach at two orphanages. Until then...
~Nicole, Erin, Jenna, Matt, Shawn, and Ben
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
My Day Broken Down
Today..
7:00am-Just a "friendly" wake up to Bree knocking on the door yelling "BOYS!!it's 7 o'clock." Drew respectfully says "Thank you Bree."
wait...
2:40am-wake up before Rick for the first time to stomach pains and hit the little boys room. Take an Immodium and a Tylenol thinking it could be food poisoning. Fall back asleep.
7:03-8:30am-Fall back asleep after Bree experience having dreams of dinosaurs coming out of rocks on the beach and feeding on trash washing up from the sea. Don't ask me why?
8:30am-Feel better thnking god that I don't have food poisoning. Immediately head out the door down stairs to order a double espresso shot, cheese omlette and plain toast completely knowing that it probably wont arrive until five minutes before we have to leave. Oh yea..Rick is still sleeping.
9:15am-Reading the Chennai Post in English hovering over a section about two girls who drowned on Monday after falling into a lake trying to wash their clothes. Recieve my food and am pleased with it, begin to devour.
9:23am-Try and use a 500 rupee bill to pay my 105 rupee tab but am told to come back later.
9:24am-Walk back towards the room, pass Bree sitting on the hammock who asks me if I picked up any candy for the kids and tells me that I only have a few minutes before we leave. I tell her no, I don't have any candy and that I will try to hurry.
9:30am-Get into the car and head toward Infanty Jesus Matriculam(?) School with the most awesome group there is.
10:00-10:15am-Sit in the principals office with the group having a completely familiar awkward time waiting for the word to head to the classroom. I laugh because this happens everyday.
10:16am-Get the word and head to the class, follow the principal there and teach teach teach!
11:10am-Finish the first class and we have a "casual" argument led by Bree about what could have happened better. We orally make corrections then head back to the principals office where the smells are familiar and the chai is served.
11:30am-Escorted back to another class and teach our hearts out. We all make little corrections improving our teaching efficiency even more. Who could have guessed?
...Oh and it has also been raining since 10:30am or so.
12:40pm-Head back to the principals office once again and am excited to see Bree's attempts to try and pawn her coconut milk off to us!! haha
1:07pm-Realize the milks not coming today and we are escorted to eat lunch on the 3rd floor again.
1:10pm-Food is served! I am excited to see Bree's face when the hard boiled eggs are divied out. We are told that the rice dish is made from the crop behind the school. Bree screams out as the kitten brushes against her foot. She makes no face about the hard boiled egg:( I eat till I can't eat anymore and have to once again turn down the banana that I am offered because of my allergy problem. I wonder what it would feel like to sink my teeth into one again someday.
1:35pm-Head to teach 6th graders and conduct the best class yet. I love this translator today!
2:30pm-Have a moment with the group bonding over how well the class went. Go outside to find that our taxi driver is not there and his car is.
3:00pm-Taxi driver shows up walking down the road. We ask no questions and are on our way home...Still raining.
3:20pm-Rick walks to the post office after being dropped off on the way home. I am hoping that he will be able to get there on time with no problems unlike the last 3 days.
3:23pm-Get home, no rain in Malapalipuram! Bond with Lea and Bree in their room waiting for Rick to return with the keys.
3:50pm-Rick gets back..GOOD NEWS!! postcards are sent. Head up to the room to figure out the plan for today.
4:03pm-Decide to rent bicycles and find them for 10 rupees a piece for two hours. Head out on our magical journey!
4:20pm-Find a hidden tree farm next to the beach where we feel as if we are the only ones there. Go to the beach where we find that it is more like a sand cliff where lots of fishermen hang. The sand is black and I can smell the scent of pine trees as the rain begins to fall.
4:32pm- run up back to the forest looking for shelter. Two indians invite us in a tree fort where we hang with them and escape the rain..and learn of their dark secrets.
5:40-6:00pm- ride back in the rain soaked to the bone, camera in my underwear trying to navigate the indian traffic safetly.
6:00pm-now-bond with the group although they don't think our journey was anything special, hang out in the rain, go out to eat, write this blog, get kicked off the comp. It was a lovely day!
-Drew
7:00am-Just a "friendly" wake up to Bree knocking on the door yelling "BOYS!!it's 7 o'clock." Drew respectfully says "Thank you Bree."
wait...
2:40am-wake up before Rick for the first time to stomach pains and hit the little boys room. Take an Immodium and a Tylenol thinking it could be food poisoning. Fall back asleep.
7:03-8:30am-Fall back asleep after Bree experience having dreams of dinosaurs coming out of rocks on the beach and feeding on trash washing up from the sea. Don't ask me why?
8:30am-Feel better thnking god that I don't have food poisoning. Immediately head out the door down stairs to order a double espresso shot, cheese omlette and plain toast completely knowing that it probably wont arrive until five minutes before we have to leave. Oh yea..Rick is still sleeping.
9:15am-Reading the Chennai Post in English hovering over a section about two girls who drowned on Monday after falling into a lake trying to wash their clothes. Recieve my food and am pleased with it, begin to devour.
9:23am-Try and use a 500 rupee bill to pay my 105 rupee tab but am told to come back later.
9:24am-Walk back towards the room, pass Bree sitting on the hammock who asks me if I picked up any candy for the kids and tells me that I only have a few minutes before we leave. I tell her no, I don't have any candy and that I will try to hurry.
9:30am-Get into the car and head toward Infanty Jesus Matriculam(?) School with the most awesome group there is.
10:00-10:15am-Sit in the principals office with the group having a completely familiar awkward time waiting for the word to head to the classroom. I laugh because this happens everyday.
10:16am-Get the word and head to the class, follow the principal there and teach teach teach!
11:10am-Finish the first class and we have a "casual" argument led by Bree about what could have happened better. We orally make corrections then head back to the principals office where the smells are familiar and the chai is served.
11:30am-Escorted back to another class and teach our hearts out. We all make little corrections improving our teaching efficiency even more. Who could have guessed?
...Oh and it has also been raining since 10:30am or so.
12:40pm-Head back to the principals office once again and am excited to see Bree's attempts to try and pawn her coconut milk off to us!! haha
1:07pm-Realize the milks not coming today and we are escorted to eat lunch on the 3rd floor again.
1:10pm-Food is served! I am excited to see Bree's face when the hard boiled eggs are divied out. We are told that the rice dish is made from the crop behind the school. Bree screams out as the kitten brushes against her foot. She makes no face about the hard boiled egg:( I eat till I can't eat anymore and have to once again turn down the banana that I am offered because of my allergy problem. I wonder what it would feel like to sink my teeth into one again someday.
1:35pm-Head to teach 6th graders and conduct the best class yet. I love this translator today!
2:30pm-Have a moment with the group bonding over how well the class went. Go outside to find that our taxi driver is not there and his car is.
3:00pm-Taxi driver shows up walking down the road. We ask no questions and are on our way home...Still raining.
3:20pm-Rick walks to the post office after being dropped off on the way home. I am hoping that he will be able to get there on time with no problems unlike the last 3 days.
3:23pm-Get home, no rain in Malapalipuram! Bond with Lea and Bree in their room waiting for Rick to return with the keys.
3:50pm-Rick gets back..GOOD NEWS!! postcards are sent. Head up to the room to figure out the plan for today.
4:03pm-Decide to rent bicycles and find them for 10 rupees a piece for two hours. Head out on our magical journey!
4:20pm-Find a hidden tree farm next to the beach where we feel as if we are the only ones there. Go to the beach where we find that it is more like a sand cliff where lots of fishermen hang. The sand is black and I can smell the scent of pine trees as the rain begins to fall.
4:32pm- run up back to the forest looking for shelter. Two indians invite us in a tree fort where we hang with them and escape the rain..and learn of their dark secrets.
5:40-6:00pm- ride back in the rain soaked to the bone, camera in my underwear trying to navigate the indian traffic safetly.
6:00pm-now-bond with the group although they don't think our journey was anything special, hang out in the rain, go out to eat, write this blog, get kicked off the comp. It was a lovely day!
-Drew
Magical Bike Ride
Today Drew and I went a a really cool bike ride around Mamallapuram. For only ten rupees (like 25 cents) we rented some really old and wobbly bikes that we took around town to places we have'nt been on by foot. We rode through alleys, sidestreets, and busy main roads. Along the way we passed other bikers, people on foot, cows, beggars, sellers, goats, and boars. We road really far, almost to the edge of town until we saw a big gate that one of the local said led to the ocean. We entered and saw that it was a pine tree farm. We rode on a narrow road surrounded by pines until we reached the ocean. Then it started to rain so we decided to ride back. As we road back on the narow road we noticed a hut with a couple people standing inside. When they saw us riding by they waved for us to come in. We were a little reluctant at first but they turned out to be really cool and we hung out with them while we took shelter from the rain. When the rain started to die out we rode back into town happier than ever to be in India. -Rick and Drew
...thats what its all about!
Hello all! Since our last post Team Super-Awesome has been very active!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all full teaching days. We started teaching the Grade 1 students and have worked our way all the way to Grade 6! We have had amazing teachers at the school who have helped to translate our lessons into Tamil, but our students are very enthusiastic and so happy to learn. They all tell us at the end of our lesson, they are going to share it with their families.
The school that we are working with is very kind. We arrive every morning to a "Freshly n' Hot" cup of chai tea. After teaching our second lesson of the day, we are given a break and drink fresh coconut milk from the coconut! The school is also preparing us savory traditional Indian meals for lunch. Lunch is prepared in the school's kitchen, and unlike American school food the meals are fresh, hot, home cooked, and delicious.
Last night (Tuesday) we visited our partner EK's orphanage that is located 1 minute away from our guesthouse in Mamallapurm. Upon arrival, we greeted with smiling faces and handshakes. The childern all gathered to continue greeting us with songs. After their performance we taught them the Hokie Pokie!! They had so much fun, as did we. Its sad knowing that these boys do not have a family, however they have become their own family and it is wonderful to see.
Today (Wednesday), we woke up to a cloudy and rainy day. The rain is slow and steady like it is at home, but has cooled off the town.
We only have a few days left in Mamallapurm, so we must be on our way! We are heading to the Dance Festival tonight!!
Until next time!
Team Super-Awesome (Bree, Lea, Drew, and Rick)
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all full teaching days. We started teaching the Grade 1 students and have worked our way all the way to Grade 6! We have had amazing teachers at the school who have helped to translate our lessons into Tamil, but our students are very enthusiastic and so happy to learn. They all tell us at the end of our lesson, they are going to share it with their families.
The school that we are working with is very kind. We arrive every morning to a "Freshly n' Hot" cup of chai tea. After teaching our second lesson of the day, we are given a break and drink fresh coconut milk from the coconut! The school is also preparing us savory traditional Indian meals for lunch. Lunch is prepared in the school's kitchen, and unlike American school food the meals are fresh, hot, home cooked, and delicious.
Last night (Tuesday) we visited our partner EK's orphanage that is located 1 minute away from our guesthouse in Mamallapurm. Upon arrival, we greeted with smiling faces and handshakes. The childern all gathered to continue greeting us with songs. After their performance we taught them the Hokie Pokie!! They had so much fun, as did we. Its sad knowing that these boys do not have a family, however they have become their own family and it is wonderful to see.
Today (Wednesday), we woke up to a cloudy and rainy day. The rain is slow and steady like it is at home, but has cooled off the town.
We only have a few days left in Mamallapurm, so we must be on our way! We are heading to the Dance Festival tonight!!
Until next time!
Team Super-Awesome (Bree, Lea, Drew, and Rick)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
M to the adurai
Hello everyone! Team hardcore-real-indian-experience is doing great! Today, to Ben's delight, we taught 2 classes and a total of 115 children. One class had about 80 kids so it was pretty crazy but we decided it was probably our most effective class yet. The kids have all been great so far: they could not be anymore attentive. One thing I have noticed is that there is quite a difference between public school kids and private school kids. Our roudy government school students make things exciting and I am impressed at how quickly they are able to learn CPR even with the language barrier.
As Kyla mentioned, we were invited over for a homecooked Indian meal last night at the house of V.J. Kumar, one of the men who has helped us set up all of our school gigs. There was also an unexpected ceremony for us beforehand where they presented us with giant handmade necklaces. It was very sweet of them. Dinner was tasty in an Indian sort of way... but mostly we just enjoyed talking with V.J. and his family. V.J. even called his son long distance so that Ben could chat with him. We all had a good laugh at Ben's expense for that one. I unfortunatly was the savage, aforementioned mosquito killer. But really, who could resist having a go with a bug zapping tennis racket? If anyone needs an idea for a birthday present for me...
The people here still seem to be a little star struck over us. After class all the kids rush to shake our hands, get our autographs, or just say hi. If anyone is yearning for their 15 minutes of fame and thinks its not going to happen in the states, well come to India and it's pretty much the next best thing.
Well anyway the girls do a pretty good job of posting everything that is happening here in Madurai so besides that we are all safe, happy, and working hard, most everything has already been said except... HI MOM AND DAD! MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU, HOPE EVERYTHING IS GREAT IN TUCSON! Okay now that I have made all the other volunteers look bad, bye!
Lindsey
As Kyla mentioned, we were invited over for a homecooked Indian meal last night at the house of V.J. Kumar, one of the men who has helped us set up all of our school gigs. There was also an unexpected ceremony for us beforehand where they presented us with giant handmade necklaces. It was very sweet of them. Dinner was tasty in an Indian sort of way... but mostly we just enjoyed talking with V.J. and his family. V.J. even called his son long distance so that Ben could chat with him. We all had a good laugh at Ben's expense for that one. I unfortunatly was the savage, aforementioned mosquito killer. But really, who could resist having a go with a bug zapping tennis racket? If anyone needs an idea for a birthday present for me...
The people here still seem to be a little star struck over us. After class all the kids rush to shake our hands, get our autographs, or just say hi. If anyone is yearning for their 15 minutes of fame and thinks its not going to happen in the states, well come to India and it's pretty much the next best thing.
Well anyway the girls do a pretty good job of posting everything that is happening here in Madurai so besides that we are all safe, happy, and working hard, most everything has already been said except... HI MOM AND DAD! MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU, HOPE EVERYTHING IS GREAT IN TUCSON! Okay now that I have made all the other volunteers look bad, bye!
Lindsey
I love teaching!
So in all my effort to put up photos, it has failed once more. This trip has been wonderful so far and makes me want to be a teacher even more. Well, yesterday was our first day teaching in Madurai and it went very well. The students spoke barely any english, only tamil, so we had to have a translator. They were very quick learners and seemed so excited to meet Americans. They asked our names and everyone watched us very closely. Later that afternoon we were invited to a meet and greet which turned into a ceramony for us. We were honored and given elaborate necklaces and towels. We were even invited dinner at the home of V.J. Kumar (the one who has been showing us around). It was a little weird at first but after we left Ben explained that in India the tradition is to watch the guests eat first then the family sits and eats after we leave. Also as soon as you are done eating you leave. No sitting around and talking, all business is taken care of before dinner. It was very exciting to see the inside of an Indian home. In America the kitchen is part of the house and decorated and shown off, where as here it is a seperate room no one goes in. Many aspects of their culture are very interesting.
As for today...
We taught in a rural school which was i was eager to see. The ride there was very bumpy, and the teacher said there were no phones out there. It was nice to breathe some fresh air. Every school we have taught at brings us snacks and chi. Today we were even given cake with our bananas for snack. In the afternoon, we taught a large group of 80. While they were more rambunctious, they were tons of fun. We are teaching mostly in government schools. They are very different from the school we taught at the first day with Bree's group. While Madurai is not the most beautiful city, I defiantly feel i am in the true Indian culture. This trip is very exciting and i can not wait for the last few days.
~Kristyn
P.S. Pictures will come as soon as i find a computer that will let me put some up.
As for today...
We taught in a rural school which was i was eager to see. The ride there was very bumpy, and the teacher said there were no phones out there. It was nice to breathe some fresh air. Every school we have taught at brings us snacks and chi. Today we were even given cake with our bananas for snack. In the afternoon, we taught a large group of 80. While they were more rambunctious, they were tons of fun. We are teaching mostly in government schools. They are very different from the school we taught at the first day with Bree's group. While Madurai is not the most beautiful city, I defiantly feel i am in the true Indian culture. This trip is very exciting and i can not wait for the last few days.
~Kristyn
P.S. Pictures will come as soon as i find a computer that will let me put some up.
Monday, January 5, 2009
How sweet it is
So, we were invited to a "meet and greet" which consisted of a humble welcoming from the Grace Peters Charitable Trust members and a delicious Indian Dinner served by Mr. VJ Kumar, who is a man of most noble ambitions (I will brag about him later). It was quite the interesting cultural exchange. For those of you who don't now this about me, I have a sort of unreasonable reaction to misquotes being killed, so when the electric tennis racket was pulled out, as you can imagine, it was hard to contain my sadness. But dinner in their home is my most cherished experience so far. Their home was beautiful and their china cabinet was filled with the most humorous of American relics, like Disneyland ceramics and a souvenir plate of Niagara falls. It is interesting what American culture leaks into India. People have told me that their favorite movie star is Arnold Swartzenager, their favorite singer is Micheal Jackson, the backstreet boys, and Emenim, and their favorite movie is Titanic. Oh, and they love the WWF like it's never going to go out of style. Dinner, like the rest of the food in India, was incredible, but I know I am lonely in this opinion. I am getting more acquainted with the names of food finally. It puts me at ease to know to know what I am ordering. Our car driver has taken onto himself the difficult task of teaching me Tamil. So far I have been a pretty ungratifying student, although I have picked up a few key words. But the students we teach soak it up what we say, the children in India are very accelerated learners. We are fortunate to have them as students. Our classes have been quite successful. Actually, they have been more than that. I feel empowered by the ability to invoke a smile on their faces. It gives me great pleasure to feel like i am making a positive impression in the world and being someone who these kids will remember for a long time. I feel that I am giving my skills back to the world in a very purposeful way.
-KYLA
-KYLA
Beauty!
So I find myself very lucky! Not only are the people so polite and respectful to us, the sights are so beautiful! I wanted to share some of the beauty of Kerala with you all! These are from our adventures around the campuses and the State. I hope you all enjoy!
~Nicole
~Nicole
Busy Bee's in Mamallapuram
Team Awesome is in full force! We haven't even had a moment to post...
This weekend we spent Saturday in Pondicherry, a city just south of Mamallapuram. We started off with a visit to the Gandhi statue, followed by Lea, Drew, and Rick's first rickshaw ride to a sea side cafe. We ate a meal of very delicious sea food. Then, we took a heritage walk through the old French part of the city. On this, we discovered a beautiful park where there were many families playing and enjoying the afternoon. After the walking tour, we visited Swim Beach! Swim Beach was very exciting, but there was so much more to do, we had continue on. We drank delicious chai, back at the park where we were all surrounded by hundreds of Indians wanting to have their pictures taken with us. It was a little taste of fame! Drew meet a French-Indian friend at the park and hungout with him because it was his birthday while the rest of us, visited a local bookstore. By this time, our taxi was ready to pick us up and on our way to meet it, we discovered a local festival in the streets and the Gandhi statue to be lit up by beautiful lights.
Yesterday was a day full of fun. We shopped around the city and made friends with many local shop owners. In the afternoon, we took an exciting boat ride to see the ancient underwater temples. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant Namaste, and went to sleep early to be fresh for our full day of teaching.
Today, we started teaching the Grade 1 and 2 students and it went better than expected! We ended up teaching 3 classes, more than 100 students! The small children were very excited to learn about water safety and CPR. They all learned CPR very quickly, and it gave us all a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. The students said they were going to teach their friends and family the knowledge we shared with them, which makes us even more proud. We hope of the rest of the week so just as well, if not better.
-Lea and Bree
This weekend we spent Saturday in Pondicherry, a city just south of Mamallapuram. We started off with a visit to the Gandhi statue, followed by Lea, Drew, and Rick's first rickshaw ride to a sea side cafe. We ate a meal of very delicious sea food. Then, we took a heritage walk through the old French part of the city. On this, we discovered a beautiful park where there were many families playing and enjoying the afternoon. After the walking tour, we visited Swim Beach! Swim Beach was very exciting, but there was so much more to do, we had continue on. We drank delicious chai, back at the park where we were all surrounded by hundreds of Indians wanting to have their pictures taken with us. It was a little taste of fame! Drew meet a French-Indian friend at the park and hungout with him because it was his birthday while the rest of us, visited a local bookstore. By this time, our taxi was ready to pick us up and on our way to meet it, we discovered a local festival in the streets and the Gandhi statue to be lit up by beautiful lights.
Yesterday was a day full of fun. We shopped around the city and made friends with many local shop owners. In the afternoon, we took an exciting boat ride to see the ancient underwater temples. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant Namaste, and went to sleep early to be fresh for our full day of teaching.
Today, we started teaching the Grade 1 and 2 students and it went better than expected! We ended up teaching 3 classes, more than 100 students! The small children were very excited to learn about water safety and CPR. They all learned CPR very quickly, and it gave us all a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. The students said they were going to teach their friends and family the knowledge we shared with them, which makes us even more proud. We hope of the rest of the week so just as well, if not better.
-Lea and Bree
Look at them go!
Today we taught at Christu Jayanthi School. They were so nice to us! We meet the Principal and then went right to work. We taught two very enthusiastic classes and the Principal and some of the Priests stayed to watch. Then we had tea and got to sit down with the principal and talk about the different aspects and programs at the school. Then we rushed off to teach two more classes. The students were all eager to learn and the students weren't shy to do hands on demonstrations. They were all very polite and they all knew a lot of English. The staff was very accommodating and very kind to us, they expressed their thanks and invited us back next year. After teaching we had a quick tour of the grounds and then we were given an amazing lunch. The food at these schools is great! Tonight the Vice Principal from the other campus that we were at on Friday scheduled a meeting with a reporter from a local newspaper. We are very excited and are looking forward to it. Tomorrow were teach at the college at they same campus. Here are some pictures from our classes today! Enjoy!!
~Nicole, Erin, Jenna, Matt, Shawn
~Nicole, Erin, Jenna, Matt, Shawn
Maduri
We all brought books, but still peel them open only into the first couple of pages. It seems that there is much more to grab our attention here in Madurai. Last night we visited the Temples of Madurai, which are the big attraction of the city. They are now being repainted so instead of hundred-foot temples poking out of the city skyline there is a peculiar pile of palm fronds. It was quite unfortunate, not because of the renovation that was taking place but because they also transformed such a sacred place into a swap meet for Hindu figurines. It was a strange mix that was hard to digest, God was still present, but it was tainted. The nice thing about being in a pilgrimage city though is that their are a lot of Indian tourist that come here too, so we escape the attention a little. In short, Madurai has both a good and bad face, good being most predominant.
-kyla
-kyla
It's different but it doesn't make a difference
Thank you to all who sent me off with such sweet words, it warmed my heart like a hug. When I am going to bed I think of Tucson getting up, and when I am waking up I think of Tucson getting tucked in.Time feels longer, I'm enjoying these weeks that take forever. So far we've traveled to three different places in India and tasted all range of flavors, not only in food, but in a figurative since as well . So much is always happening, I'm glad to have the vitality of being 17 (almost 18!) Even when I am doing as little as watching the red Indian sun rise above a still sleeping city, my eyes are busy capturing the beauty that is always present in this country.
My heart flutters when i think of all the kind people I have encountered in India so far. I talked to the man i sat next to on the plane for the majority of our nine hour fight from London to Chennai about the deceptive nature of the mind. We arrived in Chennai during the dead of night, unsuspecting of the craziness of the next morning. Chennai was a city exclusive to itself, I don't think like anything else in this world. It is ten times the size of Tucson with 100 times the street bustle. I think the only reason those people survive is because of the serene refuge of the rooftops, were I spent many sunset hours enjoying the peace and quiet of the muted city. As good as I admit Chennai was, we were all relieved to travel to Mammallapuram, where we could relax and breathe clean air for the first time since arrival. Mammallapuram is a lot like Sedona, a small town with good people in a shopping splendor. Madurai is a happy balance between Chennai and Mammallapuram; a big city with the beautiful sites of a small town, and a place were I look forward to staying for the duration of my time teaching with Swim India.
-Kyla
My heart flutters when i think of all the kind people I have encountered in India so far. I talked to the man i sat next to on the plane for the majority of our nine hour fight from London to Chennai about the deceptive nature of the mind. We arrived in Chennai during the dead of night, unsuspecting of the craziness of the next morning. Chennai was a city exclusive to itself, I don't think like anything else in this world. It is ten times the size of Tucson with 100 times the street bustle. I think the only reason those people survive is because of the serene refuge of the rooftops, were I spent many sunset hours enjoying the peace and quiet of the muted city. As good as I admit Chennai was, we were all relieved to travel to Mammallapuram, where we could relax and breathe clean air for the first time since arrival. Mammallapuram is a lot like Sedona, a small town with good people in a shopping splendor. Madurai is a happy balance between Chennai and Mammallapuram; a big city with the beautiful sites of a small town, and a place were I look forward to staying for the duration of my time teaching with Swim India.
-Kyla
Life in Madurai
I've been staying here in Madurai with Lindsey, Kristyn, and Kyla the past few days. We didn't have high expectations for our stay here (the city has over a million people and is surrounded by mosquito-laden pnds) but have been pleasantly surprised. There's not much to see here, most tourists stay only a day or two, just long enough to visit the massive Sri Meenakshi Temple in the middle of town. Our luck has found all twelve of the massive temples (between 100 and 200 feet high each) under renovation and covered with thick scaffolding and palm fronds. But the people here are nice. It's a pilgrimage city which caters to local tourists mostly so we go unharassed for the most part. We're staying in a hotel that probably hasn't seen a white foreigner in years. Dozen of Indian families cook in the halls, hack up a lung at 6am, and watch the latest hit Bollywood films with the volume maxed. But at least it has character.
We taught at a high school right near our hotel today. The lesson went well in spite of the use of a translator (the students only speak Tamil). The class was all boys which made for a pretty rowdy CPR practice. One thing my students loved to do was to cup their hand and blow as hard as possible into their unsuspecting friend's mouth. At least it was interesting!
We have lots of activities planned for this week. In addition to teaching, we will be visiting our partner, the Grace Peter Charitable Trust's office to meet the staff, have dinner, and see the work they are doing here. Later in the week, we will attend a function where we will hand out backpacks to needy schoolchildren. It's nice for the volunteers here to get a chance to interact with the local community in this way.
This will be a big week for all of our teams across India. We'll all be teaching this entire week through the weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the success we will have in just the next few short days.
- Ben
Madurai
We taught at a high school right near our hotel today. The lesson went well in spite of the use of a translator (the students only speak Tamil). The class was all boys which made for a pretty rowdy CPR practice. One thing my students loved to do was to cup their hand and blow as hard as possible into their unsuspecting friend's mouth. At least it was interesting!
We have lots of activities planned for this week. In addition to teaching, we will be visiting our partner, the Grace Peter Charitable Trust's office to meet the staff, have dinner, and see the work they are doing here. Later in the week, we will attend a function where we will hand out backpacks to needy schoolchildren. It's nice for the volunteers here to get a chance to interact with the local community in this way.
This will be a big week for all of our teams across India. We'll all be teaching this entire week through the weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the success we will have in just the next few short days.
- Ben
Madurai
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Fun in the SUN!
Today we went to the beach!! We had a lot of fun and then went back to Fort Cochin. This makes our third trip to the island. It's beautiful and there is so much to do. The beach was great. Here are some pictures of us playing in the sand. And a fun note: As Shawn was building a sand castle everyone would stop on the beach to watch and get pictures with it. We guess they've never seen one before.Tomorrow we go back to teaching! Until tomorrow...
~Nicole, Jenna, Matt, Shawn, and Erin
~Nicole, Jenna, Matt, Shawn, and Erin
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Another Town
Just a short post for now. Ben, Kristyn, Kyla, and Lindsey all have arrized in Maduri. This is our last city that we will teach in. It is a nice balance between the 2 towns we have been to in india. The town is like Chennai but much cleaner. We met our contact here who is super nice and has everything way more organized than we could ever imagine. He even took us to a tamil church this morning, it was cool but different. The language barrier is much harder here and the fact that we need a translator for the schools means we need to rewrite our script a little. So we are pretty busy today getting that ready and our contact V.J will take us to the Ghandi museum which is kind of exciting. We will let you know how teaching goes tomorrow.
~Kristyn
~Kristyn
Friday, January 2, 2009
Pictures
here are pictures from the cold in London, the temple, teching, and the whole group! i don't know if they posted in that order. Enjoy!
First day of teaching (Kerala)
Today we went to Rajagiri (university and grade school). We taught 3 classes total of 115 students. They all loved us. They were very excited and were surprisingly able to recite back to us all the steps of CPR. They also asked very good questions at the end of class. The campus was gorgeous! It was so green and clean. The kindergarden center looked like a theme park...seriously. We felt like royalty. Everyone seemed very pleased to meet us and have us at their school. We'll be back at their other campus on Monday to teach the grade school kids and Tues and Wed we'll be back to teaching the undergrad and master students.
Below are some of our new class photos. Enjoy :)
-Jenna, Nicole, Erin, Matt, Shawn
Below are some of our new class photos. Enjoy :)
-Jenna, Nicole, Erin, Matt, Shawn
Our First Day Teaching
Our day started out great. We ate a delicious breakfast (porridge and bananas). After reviewing our script and figuring out what everyone was doing we took a taxi to the school we were teaching at. It was a little out in the country i would say, but it was worth it. Everyone met the principle and the coordinator. They brought us orange Fanta to drink as we reviewed and everyone became more nervous. We were told we would start teaching one class of 40 students. Finally we went to the classroom and it started all at once. No one knew what to expect so it was very exciting. The schools in India are very proper. The students stood as the 8 of us walked in and every time they were asked a question. At first they seemed a little shy and would not raise their hands or answer questions, but after a while they were a lot better: especially after breaking into the little groups. After we taught, we talked to the students and took pictures with them. They were very excited to meet Americans and kept asking when we would be back. They even made us feels more appreciated by taking out their books and journals and asking us for our autographs. Finally we went back to the hotel and discussed how well the day went. We all agreed it could not have gone any better. Then we cooled of and ate lunch, but no pepper steak so we had more indian food. After that Me and Kyla went shopping and had a lot of fun exploring the city. There is so much here to take in, its hard to explain everything. I think later we are getting dinner, going to the beach one last time, and then heading to bed early because Ben, Kyla, Lindsey, and I have to be up at 5 tommorrow to catch our train to Maduri. Hope everyone is doing well. Its Amazing here and everything is going great.
Kristyn
Mamallapuram has been amazing!! I love this place, it's almost like paradise! The first day here we just explored - did some shopping and ate some really good food. I've got to say the Indian food is good, but I do miss food back home! The beach is a little dirty, but it's a beach and that makes me happy! Today was our first day teaching and it went great. Schools are so different here than back home. It was hard at first, Lindsey opened up and the first time she asked a question the students didn't respond. We had practiced our script at local schools back home before our trip, so I guess we expected to get responses like we did in Tucson. We asked if they knew what a lifeguard was or does and got no response, it was kind of funny but when you think about it that's not a common job here. Although, while laying out on the beach today we did see and hear a lifeguard blow their whistle (woohoo). Anyways, we learned later that in order to get the students to respond to a question we must address them, they have to stand up and either say I don't know or answer. They also don't sit back down until you say they can. So that was really different, especially from schools in Tucson. The students are so bright, they picked up on CPR really quick and that was really exciting. Afterwards, they offered us delicious Chai and asked us for our autographs. They made us feel like celebrities :) Bree, Drew, Rick and I will be returning to that same school, so hopefully we'll get to see our friends again. I'm looking forward to more teaching - it's a different, yet an awesome experience! The language barrier is makes it difficult, but we make it happen! Ben, Lindsey, Kristyn and Kyla leave tomorrow, so tonight we'll be our last night together :( Slowly our big group is dwindling down. It's sad...this is seriously such a great group! Hope all is well back home...
<3 Lea
Kristyn
Mamallapuram has been amazing!! I love this place, it's almost like paradise! The first day here we just explored - did some shopping and ate some really good food. I've got to say the Indian food is good, but I do miss food back home! The beach is a little dirty, but it's a beach and that makes me happy! Today was our first day teaching and it went great. Schools are so different here than back home. It was hard at first, Lindsey opened up and the first time she asked a question the students didn't respond. We had practiced our script at local schools back home before our trip, so I guess we expected to get responses like we did in Tucson. We asked if they knew what a lifeguard was or does and got no response, it was kind of funny but when you think about it that's not a common job here. Although, while laying out on the beach today we did see and hear a lifeguard blow their whistle (woohoo). Anyways, we learned later that in order to get the students to respond to a question we must address them, they have to stand up and either say I don't know or answer. They also don't sit back down until you say they can. So that was really different, especially from schools in Tucson. The students are so bright, they picked up on CPR really quick and that was really exciting. Afterwards, they offered us delicious Chai and asked us for our autographs. They made us feel like celebrities :) Bree, Drew, Rick and I will be returning to that same school, so hopefully we'll get to see our friends again. I'm looking forward to more teaching - it's a different, yet an awesome experience! The language barrier is makes it difficult, but we make it happen! Ben, Lindsey, Kristyn and Kyla leave tomorrow, so tonight we'll be our last night together :( Slowly our big group is dwindling down. It's sad...this is seriously such a great group! Hope all is well back home...
<3 Lea
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Nice Change
Bree, Lindsey, Ben, Ric, Drew, Kristyn, Kyla, and Lea arrived in Mahabalipuram this morning around 10:00 am. The weather is perfect and it is a beautiful little town near the beach. We were all excited to see some non-Indian and seafood choices on the menu. We spent morning shopping and looking around town as Ben, Bree, and Lindsey finalized the teaching arrangements for next week with our Indian contact, E.K. He was very helpful and kind. It looks as though the plans are pretty solid and we will be able to teach many kids, including some that attend a tsunami surviver school (ironic?) We spent the afternoon visiting temples in the surrounding area. The intricate stone carvings were stunning and it was amazing to see how well they were preserved even post-tsunami. The local Indians were VERY interested in us: we shook too many hands to count and took numerous pictures with them. We look foward to a lovely dinner in one of the beachside restaurants. Lindsey and Kristyn are a little sad to have to leave this paradise in a couple days but are very excited for Maduri. Hope everyone reading had a happy new year,
Lindsey and Kristyn
Lindsey and Kristyn
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