India Recap

Sunday, March 6
We finally reached India and after going through customs and figuring out a plan for the day we exited the ship. It wasn’t nearly as hot as I was expecting and the air didn’t smell all that bad. My friends and I went to a couple government shops then to an outdoor market. We asked our drivers to take us to a restaurant for some good traditional Indian food. They took us to a fabulous place where our plate was a banana leaf and our utensils were our fingers. It was delicious!

Monday, March 7
I started off my day with breakfast then a headed to our group meeting for my service trip and headed to the school. At the school we had a brief orientation/information session with the Principal then dispersed into the different classrooms to have fun with the students…play, color, dance, etc. I was in I-Standard, the equivalent of 1st grade. The teacher had just started a week ago but knew each of the children so well. I brought some colors and papers for the children to use and we colored together. Then I passed out stickers and sang songs with the students.

At the end of the day we packed up, said our “see ya laters” and got back on the bus for hostel. We knew the name of the restaurant where we were to eat dinner so some friends and I headed out to shop before dinner. We walked the streets and got to experience the hustle-bustle of Chennai at night. I bought Vaseline for 20 rupees and bug repellent for 10 rupees! I was loving the prices ($1 = 45 rupees).

At our reflection meeting that night the one question that came up about our day at the school was “what service are we providing?” We are coloring with the students, singing songs, and playing games outside…but the Principal said that the students are behind and need to stay on track with their curriculum. So, I made it my mission for the next day to help, not hinder, the process that was already in place at the school.

Gurukulum School - Chennai, India
The school is a public school for children who are disadvantaged. Most, if not all, of these children’s families were affected by the tsunami. The community is a fisherman’s village and the children stopped going to school after the tsunami because there was no facility and no funds. The school building was possible due to donations. The uniforms are given to the children. Breakfast, a snack, and lunch are provided daily for the children AND these are the only meals that most of the children eat on a daily basis. The children go to school Monday-Saturday from 8:50am-3:30pm. The school has classes from pre-kindergarten through Six-Standard (equivalent of 6th grade). A goal for the administrators is for the school to continue to grow so that they can add on a grade level each year. The teachers are dedicated but not highly trained. The students have behavior issues but are generally speaking good children who are there to learn. The students called us Ma’am and Sir, and wanted nothing more than for us to acknowledge them.


Tuesday, March 8
After breakfast and a bus ride over the school, our day began. I observed a classroom for the first half of the day, Fourth-Standard. Then we had lunch…with the students. We sat on the floor just like them and ate the same lunch as they did. It was so much fun trying new foods with the students. We had a large helping of rice, 2 types of soup, and some type of bread with a dipping sauce. It was interesting…good…but none-the-less, interesting.

We taught some classes in the afternoon and were able to use whatever we could to teach our lesson. This is where I learned that teaching is much more than babysitting or organizing a bunch of students…it’s a full commitment, heavy duty job. The responsibility is great but so are the rewards.

At the end of the day, each student gathered their backpack and headed for the bus. They have one school bus and a van. The children all pile in and they are taken into town, then dropped off at locations near their home. The bus then comes back for the second load of children, and does the same thing. The younger children leave first and the older children leave on the second bus. The van is for the youngest children.

That night, after dinner and back at the hostel, we had a debriefing meeting. We talked about how we felt and what our emotions were after two days at the school. I talked about how I am hopeful that the teachers and students are learning from us. My hope is that they will continue to be excited about learning and will excel in the classroom as well as in the community.

Wednesday, March 9
The day began much like Tuesday; we had breakfast then headed to the school to observe class. During the morning we sat in on some classes. I walked around taking pictures and helping where I could. After lunch my friend Greg and I taught geography to 2nd and 3rd grade students. It was a bit difficult because we had no lesson plan, did not know the names of the children, and had a large group to work with. But, we managed. We used the chalk board, a globe, and a map to show the students where they lived in relation to where we are from. We talked about the different continents and the idea that countries are located within a continent. Then we discussed cities and located Chennai on the map. After that we went over the major oceans and explained that we were sailing around the world.

The vice principal was quite impressed with my poise in the classroom and even offered me a job as a teacher at the school!

Our great experience was coming to a close and a cab was on its way to get four of us who had planned another trip up north, so I took last minute pictures of the school grounds and children. When our cab driver arrived, we were off to the airport.

We checked in at the airport and went through security to find that the only food available were cookies from a small stand. So, we checked out and went to the restaurant above the terminal. Our flight was pushed back a couple times but by 9:00pm we were on the plane and ready for take-off. We arrived in New Dehli after midnight, found our driver and headed to the hotel for the night. Once at the hotel, we checked in but realized that we only had 2.5 hours to sleep. So, we got what little sleep we could.

School Visit Reflection. Children: So energetic and Pliable. They know just what we teach them and have the ability to do most anything. I am hopeful that the teachers and children that we worked with for the past three days have taken something away from the experience, I know I have. I have a new found respect for those doing service, I enjoy (even more than before) see a smile on a childs face, and I am certain that I love working with others. When I was tired, someone was energized…when I didn’t know what to say, someone knew just the right words to complete my sentence…and when I needed support someone was there to pat me on the back and help lead the way. I wasn’t the only one working hard and doing my best to benefit those that we came to help…everyone was!

As my train of thought matures I begin to see the world as a much larger place than the map on a bulletin board and people as much more than just humans, we are what makes up this world and what make it so special.

The quote that I live my life by has come up in conversation more time than I can count on this voyage and I am forever grateful for the reminder that life is short. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”

So, it is my stance that I shall do what I can, while I can. The need will remain but it’s the opportunity to provide aid that may disappear…We are the people that we have been waiting for!

Thursday, March 10

We had hired a driver for the day. The hotel suggested a package deal with a tour guide for the day as well as the driver and assured that we would make out flight scheduled for later in the day. So, just after 5am we loaded up in the car and were off to see the Taj Mahal. Before we got even out of the city, I was asleep. Our driver made one stop along the way at what looked like a truck stop. There were people with monkeys on leashes. We could take a picture with the money but we had to pay to take the picture. Our driver spoke little English so when he left he just said “30 min”….we weren’t sure if that meant that we had 30 min left in the drive or that he would be back in 30 min. So, we waited patiently. When he got back in the car we sped away and arrived at the entrance of the Taj Mahal two hours later.

Outside of the Taj, we met our tour guide. We walked down a long pathway then entered the premises through the west gate which our guide said was for those who were royalty. We took tons of pictures and learned a lot about the architecture of the Taj Mahal. It was built in 22 years and there are 22 pillars on the top, 11 on each side. Every part of the building is handmade, carved and unique!

Our tour guide then took us to a marble shop where they hand carve marble and make tables, mugs, plates, coasters, etc. We got to see how they carve marble and even carved a piece of marble ourselves. We drove across town to Agra Fort and took some pictures outside the gates….it is massive. We dropped off our tour guide and then headed two hours down the road to a restaurant to eat.

The establishment was a restaurant/hotel/market all in one. The food was really good and the prices weren’t too bad. There was a lady in the restroom with her two children handing out soap and paper towels. I tipped the little girl some money and got in the car thinking about their life. “What a life it is to hand out napkins and smile at people hoping that they tip you for serving them”.

Back on the road I took a short nap then woke up to us driving on a back road in the middle of nowhere. I began to become concerned. I was confused. I sat patiently, waiting for there to be a street sign or placard instructing us where to go next. But there wasn’t. My friends woke up and we all were worried about where we were and if we were going to make our flight. Our driver began to drive like a mad man. He honked his horn at every opportunity and asked for directions at each fork in the road. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 8:00pm. We were told that the latest we should arrive at the airport is one hour in advance, 7:00pm. It was past 7:00pm and we were still stuck in traffic but I had seen a sign that mentioned Dehli Airport…so I knew that at least we were headed in the right direction. We packed up our belongings which were scattered all over the car and got ready to literally run out of the car and into the airport.

At the airport we tipped our driver then ran to the terminal. Once inside we waited in a decent size line to check in and get our boarding passes. The airline official said that there were no seats left on the flight for two of us, but after talking to her manager, found seats for us. We rushed to the gate and saw other passengers still waiting at the gate. We were relieved…I was relieved. Finally, we would make it back to the ship!

Back in Chennai we caught a cab back to the port…so we thought. We stood in line to get a taxi that had a price pre-approved by the government, 410 rupees to go back to the port. So, we hopped in, told the driver our destination, and assumed that he would drive us straight there. We were wrong. Our driver knew the general area of the port but not the gate that we needed. He continually stopped in the middle of the road, it’s 1:00am at this point, he was waking up sleeping people in parks along the street and asking them for directions. I, along with my friends, was really uncomfortable with this whole process and had to coach our driver on how to keep driving, as opposed to getting out of the vehicle with us still in it. After talking to multiple police and security guards around the port area, we finally made it to the correct gate.

Once on the ship we took a victory picture and headed for bed.

Friday, March 11
After using the internet at a local internet spot my friends and I went shopping all over town for last minute items. At one point my friends and I had to run from our driver because he was being shady, stopping all the time and not taking us where we wanted to go...so we bounced. I was soooo nervous and scared, my heart was pounding and my stomach dropped. But we finally got to where we wanted to go. We went to Spencer’s Plaza and the Big Bizarre…had a great time and enjoyed the streets of Southern India!

All in all…
I rode scooters, planes and automobiles...fought with drivers and had to argue with locals to get where I wanted to go. Rickshaw drivers wanted to take us to everywhere except where we asked to be taken. They offered to take us to their friends’ shop, their relatives’ home, and tourist traps (places where drivers are paid to take tourists to).