A Spoken English Celebration!

10 weeks in Kadod passed by like the blink of an eye and I am now back in San Francisco. With the craziness of teaching our last few classes, saying goodbye to everyone in Kadod, and packing to come back to the US, I was unable to let you all know about the last few activities we completed with the kids. So here it is…

For our last two weeks in Kadod, our Spoken English students read, comprehended, memorized and performed an original play that Priya and I wrote, titled “The Rain Dance.” The students were extremely excited to read the play and comprehend what was going on in each of the scenes. After teaching some new vocabulary and holding role-playing activities with the play, the students completely understood what was going on in the play and started acting!

In “The Rain Dance,” a drought has caused villagers in the town of Chicago to , as their crops need water to grow. In need of rain, the villagers seek help from Shooting Star, the village leader. Shooting Star then suggests that the villagers seek aid from soldiers who have recently arrived in the village. Together, the villagers and soldiers decide they will hold a rain dance to call the rain. The idea is a success, and while everyone comes together in the rain dance, the rain falls and everyone celebrates!

The students really enjoyed acting out the play with each other and in front of their classmates! Some of the students played the roles of villagers, soldiers and a few even played the role of Shooting Star, the town leader. After the students had enough practice with the play, Priya and I decided to let them in on a little surprise: the students were going to perform the play for our Spoken English Celebration Program!

As it got closer and closer to the day of the program, the students got more and more excited! Some of them even decided to dress up to truly fit their roles.

Prahlad, Aamir and Nikhil ready to perform!

Vicky, dressed as a soldiers, accompanied by villagers Divyesh, Nikhil and Vivek

Our Spoken English Celebration and Final Program was attended by Principal Mahida and his family, Raj (President of NEF), Cat, Melissa, our entire Spoken English class, and many other students of KHS. To start off the program, Jinita, one of our 9^th standard students, sang an English song titled “My Heart is Beating.” Then, the students started the play! There were 5 scenes total in the play and each of the students in our Spoken English class was in 1-2 scenes.

All of the students memorized their lines and acted to the best of their abilities! We were so proud of each and everyone of our students. At the end of the play, the girls from our 9:00 am class also performed a Garba, (the rain dance in our play) that I choreographed and had been teaching them for the past 2 weeks.

The girls and I practicing the routine for their final performance!

The girls are such amazing, hardworking and motivated dancers!

They performed brilliantly even though we had limited practices that occurred right before our daily morning prayer and during the 2^nd half of our lunch break. After the rain dance occurred, all of the students stood up, cheering “The rain has come….The rain has come!!!!!!!” The rain had indeed come, and this ended the performance.

Afterwards, we congratulated the students for the brilliant work they have completed over the past 10 weeks. After the program ended, Priya and I realized that each of our students has grown so much in the past 10 weeks. All of the students have come so far and their hard work has truly paid off!

Now that I am back in the US, I have been reflecting on my experiences in Kadod, teaching at Kadod High School. I have realized that over the past 10 weeks, I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life. I am so lucky to have had this opportunity to develop strong relationships with such enthusiastic, thoughtful, and diligent students and I will truly miss each and every one of them. I feel like I have become a member of the Kadod High School community and I am sad that I will not be able to communicate with my students as often as I would like. However, I know that I will never forget what I have learned in Kadod and I will take what the students, teachers, and administration of KHS have taught me everywhere I go. Kadod has become a 2^nd home for me and I hope that I hope that I can continue to learn from everyone in Kadod in the future!

Thank you for reading our blog for the past few months and again, if you have any questions about Kadod High School, any of the work our students have been doing, or about Kadod, please let me or Priya know!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our Nanubhai 2008 Summer Blog!

Thanks,

Vanisha

A Tour of the Technical

Last week, Principal Mahida took us on a tour of the Technical Wing at Kadod High School. Priya, Cat, Melissa and I were thoroughly impressed!

When going into the 8th, 9th and 10th standards, students at KHS can choose what elective to take. For instance, a student can choose to take technical classes (which includes technology, engineering and drawing classes), computers, home science or dairy science.

Kadod High School has 3 computer labs with approximately 70 computers total. There are 3 science labs: a biology lab, a physics lab, and a chemistry lab. There are also 4 engineering labs: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electric gadgets and engineering/drawing. There are 4 trades labs which include carpentry, blacksmith, welding and home science. There is also a “science park.” This is where students learn physics concepts through practical means like playing with swings to demonstrate the idea of momentum.

During our tour, we first visited the chemistry lab. Filled with tons of different chemical solutions, the chemistry lab looked similar to the chemistry lab I used in high school. The other teachers and I marveled at the selection of solutions the students made in class, which include lotions, soaps, ink and even toothpaste!

Here's a picture of the chemistry lab!

After visiting the chemistry lab, the Principal took us to the Biology lab! The Biology lab was filled with glass jars holding different plants and animals, like lizards and sea creatures, that the teacher had preserved.

The Biology lab even had a human skeleton!
Next, we visited the Technical Wing. Here students showed us some of the work they do.

Here a student is sawing a piece of metal to make a nice design.

In addition to working with metals, the students also have a wood shop.
Here are some of the items the students make in class.

It is truly amazing how precise each piece the students create is. The Principal was telling us that all the students in the class are masters of precision! The teachers really stress the importance of getting all measurements correct according to their instructions.

This precision is obvious in this wooden model of the Technical section of Kadod High School!

As I talked about earlier, some of the younger students are also taken to the “Science Park.” This is where students can play with different structures to learn about the practical side of physics.

Here’s a picture of Anilbhai demonstrating the concept of momentum with the swing structure.

Seeing the Park sure made me wish I had one of these when I was taking Physics!

The students of Kadod HS are even taught to weld and solder.

Here, a few of my 9th grade students practice their welding skills.

The Principal then took us into a lab where students were practicing AutoCad, designing different structures on the computer! In the lab, there were also many posters and light-up demonstrations teachers use to teach students about different structures of the brain, blood flow throughout the body, and how electric currents flow. The Human Biology major in me could not help but take pictures of the different tools students use to learn about the human body in Kadod! I was so impressed with the rigor of the science curriculum here!
To end our tour of the Technical Wing at Kadod HS, we went to visit the physics teacher in his Physics Lab. He explained to us some of the experiments 11th standard students do during the Practicals they have. In one lab, the teacher explained to us how students calculate the acceleration due to gravity based on the speed of a continuous pendulum. In another lab, students study the idea of resistance and current flow.

And with that mini-lesson in Physics, our tour of the labs ended. The depth through which students here in Kadod study different scientific concepts amazes me, especially when they have so many different subjects to take in school at one time. For instance, students who choose to enter the Science stream take math or biology, physics, chemistry, and biology, chemistry and physics Practicals (labs) all in the same year! I don’t know if I would’ve survived high school if I had to take all those classes together!

I hope you enjoyed the tour!

वनिशा Vanisha

How to.....

Our students have turned out to be quite the teachers here in Kadod! Recently, Priya and I read the story “The Bike Lesson” a Berenstein Bears classic. In the story, Papa Bear buys Little Bear a new bike and teaches him how to ride it through a series of lessons. After the 9th and 11th graders read and fully understood to story, we had them write and then present instructions for how to make a favorite food of theirs or how to play their favorite games in a step-by-step manner to teach their classmates. Here’s what they came up with!

How to Make Lemon Juice by Manali S. Prujapati

First squeeze 2 lemons. Put the juice into a cup. Add 1 glass of water to the juice. Add 4-5 spoons of sugar into the mixture. Now add a pinch of salt. Also add a pinch of cumin. Mix everything together. Put into a glass with ice. Serve chilled and enjoy!

How to Make Dal by Manisha N. Rathod

First, bring a dal cooker. Then put in water. Put the dal in the cooker. Put the cooker on the stove. Next turn on the stove. The dal will be done in half an hour. After the dal is cooked, put masala in the dal and mix with a spoon. Let the mixture boil on the stove. After a few minutes the dal is ready. Enjoy with rice or roti!

How to Play Cricket by Rinkesh Dhangar

I play cricket. There are eleven cricketers on each team. There are bowlers and all-rounder cricketers on the team. There are fifty overs in the match. In one over, there are six balls. There are two players playing and eleven players fielding. There are two umpires in the match. There is one captain and one coach on each team. One team wins a match. There are many people in the stadium watching the cricket match.

In other news, we also showed “The Wizard of Oz” to the 9th standard students of Kadod High School. It turned out to be quite a production as we attempted to get everything from the sound to the screen and projector ready so all the students could watch in the large Examination Room. All the students (especially the girls!) really enjoyed it and kept cheering when all the different characters started singing. They especially loved the witches character as well as the fairy. However, we’ve promised the boys that next time, we’ll show them a funny animated film!

Well that’s it for now! And please let us know if you have any recommendations for movies you think the kids would enjoy!

Vanisha

Jokes!

And now for some jokes created by our lovely 9th and 11th standard students:

Daddy’s Boiling by Jinita J. Gamit, Binal H. Patel and Twinkal J. Patel.

Little Anne’s father fell asleep on the sofa and began to snore. The child ran out into the corridor and shouted “Mummy, mummy, mummy. Come quickly….Daddy’s Boiling!.”

A Fisher’s Boat by Nazim
[Two people go in the boat on the river. Then there is a hole in the boast so water is coming into the boat.]
Fisher 1 [asking Fisher 2]: What are you doing?
Fisher 2: I’m making another hole in the boat.
Fisher 1: Why?
Fisher 2: Because in the first hole water comes in and from the second hole water goes out again.

Silly Raju by Pinal Suresh Dhimmer, Sumaiya Nasrudhakh Shaikh, and Manali Shashikant Prajapati

There was a man named Raju. One day he told his friend “I have broken an elephant’s leg and a horse’s leg.” His friend said, “You are so strong! What did you do next?” Raju responded, “Nothing. My father gave some money to the toy maker.”

Mendhi Competition!

Last week Vanisha and I watched our very first mendhi competition! The students and teachers had been talking about this competition for days, but we had no idea what to expect when we walked to into the examination hall where it was being held. When we walked in, we were struck by how many students were participating - at least forty girls were carefully applying their best designs on the hands of their classmates.

After a quick scan, we saw two boys in the corner quietly drawing on the hands of another two boys. We had heard that boys participated last year, but we never thought we would see them putting mendhi on one another! Last year, a boy from our current Spoken English class won second place at this competition. Unfortunately, this year he forgot to bring mendhi.

After walking around and watching the students trying to finish their task, we decided to get our mendhi done as well! We sat down and were immediately surrounded by girls who asked us if they could put mendhi on our hands and arms. We eagerly agreed, and soon the students were drawing on us with the dark paste. Vanisha had both her arms and hands done, but I had to leave after one arm was finished, because I had to teach a class the following period. The designs ranged from simple ones that covered the wrist, palm, and fingers to ones that completely covered one's entire arm up to his or her elbow! We were so impressed with everyone's talent! Some designs took the full hour to complete while others were done in just twenty minutes!

Later that night, we took off the dried mendhi to uncover the designs that were left behind on our skin - they were so beautiful and dark! I hope I can get my other hand done soon!

Priya

Monkey….Monkeys…and More Monkeys!

So after my 5:00 pm Spoken English classes, the students always stay afterwards to tell me different stories about what’s going on in their lives. The boys were super excited early this week because Molly, one of my best friends from Stanford, was visiting me for a few days and I brought her to class last Monday. Even after class ended, the students continued asking both of us questions (in English of course!) about how we know each other and where we both live in the US.

Boys of my Spoken English class chit-chatting with me after-class

After a while, Molly left for our house and I was left amongst the herd of hyper 9th graders all talking to me at once. I suddenly caught a glimpse of two monkeys sitting on the roof of one edge of KHS. A few of the boys ran to get Molly as more and more monkeys came to join the ones sitting on the roof. Molly and I started screaming in excitement much to the amusement of all the 9th graders. Then the monkeys got tired of sitting on the roof and decided to climb down and run out of the school.

Naturally, the boys, Molly and I decided to follow them. As we all ran out of school passing the utterly confused watchman, we ran down a little path that leads to the Tapi River located right behind Kadod high school. As we looked to the left, we captured a glimpse of a few monkeys now sitting on a ledge of the roof of a nearby house. Unfortunately, the boys started yelling at them so they ran away once again in fear. Then one of the boys decided that he had to go purchase biscuits. He had the brilliant idea of enticing the monkeys with delicious Parle-G biscuits (a favorite of mine as well as that of the monkeys, or so I was told…). Unfortunately, right as Amir arrived with the biscuits, the monkeys ran away. So what did a bunch of rowdy 9th graders and their English teacher do? Chase after them once more of course!

The boys decided that the monkeys must now be near the roof of the Kadod library which is right down the path from the high school. After multiple times of trying to scare me to death and almost succeeding at that, the boys finally got me to go up the stairs of the Kadod library, a dusty room filled with Gujarati books and up to date newspapers in Gujarati, Hindi and English, to see the monkeys up close. As I slowly walked up with 2 boys holding my hands and others following closely behind me as if protecting me from any type of attack, a monkey sprinted up until it was about 2 feet away from us. We all shrieked and ran down the stairs into a safer place.

Some of the marvelous monkeys!

After some time, we got enough courage to walk up the stairs once again. This time, the kind librarian was standing at the top of the stairs with a stick, making sure the monkeys didn’t run into the library. The boys and I then darted up the stairs sprinting into the library. As I turned around, looking out onto the roof of the nearby building, I saw a family of about 7 monkeys playing around, scratching each other and relaxing amongst the falling electric wires. They were literally about 5 feet from where we were standing. The boys and I then, after being instructed by the Kadod librarian, went up yet another set of stairs onto the roof of the library and stared at the breathtaking views of the Tapi River and Kadod.

The gorgeous Tapi River, located right behind KHS!

After taking some pictures, we almost got attacked by another monkey and went screaming down two flights of stairs, running onto the rocky terrain outside Kadod HS.

An adventure I will truly never forget!

Vanisha

An American Visitor!

Last Friday, Vanisha had a friend from Stanford come visit us at KHS! Molly, en route to Andhra Pradesh to work in an orphanage, stopped by to stay with us for five days. Since this was her first time visiting India, we took her shopping in Surat to buy her first Indian clothes! She had a blast, purchasing several outfits and even a sari! It was also her first time riding an Indian bus – what a brave girl! The ride took two hours each way, and the bumps we went over made us jump in our seats every five minutes. However, she took everything in stride and even took pictures during the roller coaster ride!

When she arrived at the school, the news spread like wildfire that a new American had arrived in town. All the students eagerly crowded around our house, shouting questions about the new “teacher,” – "Where are you from?" "Are you our new teacher?" Molly, through many gestures and head movements, mimed that she would only be here for five days. The students, disappointed but satisfied, waved good-bye and headed home.

Five days went by in a flash, and suddenly the car pulled up to our house to take Molly back to the Surat airport. We waved her good-bye amid many hugs and promises to see each other soon.

Autobiographies cont.!

Introducing….Nazim Khan

My name is Nazim. I am studying in 11th-B. I am very happy with my friends. My father’s name is Nasir Khan. He is a tailor. My mother’s name is Fatima ben. She is a house wife. I have only one brother. I have no sisters. My grandparents also live with me. I enjoy the wonders of my life.
I was born on 6th January 1993. I liked to play with my friends. I was born in Bardoli in the Jyot Hospital. I studied in 10th-E last year. My brother was born on 25th March 1996. He was a funny and naughty boy. He studied in standard 7th-B last year. I was good in my little life.

I will be a Mechanical Engineer when I grow up. I will live in Kadod. I will live with my lovely wife. Also, I will live with my children, my father and my mother. I will drive every car like Scorpio, Swift, and every bike life Pular, Apache, Hayabusa, etc. I will have cars and bikes. I will live in my house.

Introducing…Prinkal M. Chaudhari My name is Prinkal. I am 15 years old. I live in Kadod. I study in 11th C. Science is my favorite subject. My mother’s name is Arunaben. My father’s name is Mukeshbhai.. I have one brother. My brother’s name is Nikunj. My brother is 12 years old. My father is a doctor. My mother is a nurse.

I was born on 17th August 1993. I was born in Mandvi. I liked to watch TV. My favorite food was Pani Puri. My favorite game was Kho-Kho. I was in standard 10-B last year.

I will be a teacher. I will live in Bardoli. I will drive a Scooti. I will live with my family. I will have a dog in my house. I will have one kid.

Autobiographies continued!

Introducing…Jinita J. Gamit I am a girl. My name is Jinita. I am in standard 9. My favourite movies are Bal Ganesha, Hunuman and Harry Potter. My father’s name is Jivanbhai. He is a conductor. My mother’s name is Jayanaben. She is a nurse. My brother’s name is Gaurav. He is in standard 12 Science. My family is very happy.

I was born on 23rd April 1995 in Masad. My native place was Balpur. My brother was born on 1st April 1992 in Bardoli. When I was little I liked to eat ice-cream. I also liked to read books. My mother and father were born on 1st June in 1976. I was in standard 8-B last year.

When I grow up, I will be an astronaut. I will live in Vyra. I will drive a Scooty. I will live with my family. I will have a dog and a horse. I will live in a house. I will have two kids.

Introducing…..Sneha Shah

My name is Sneha. I was born on 1st February. I liked pictures of nature scenes. My favourite game was Hide and Seek. My favourite actor was Ekbal Khan. My favourite actress was Sonal Chauhan. My hobby was helping my parents. I played with my friends. I liked my family and my big, happy house.

My father’s name is Hareshbhai. My mother’s name is Parulben. She is a housewife. I have a sister. Her name is Dipti. I have two brothers. Their names are Anish and Nikhil. My favourite game is Hide and Seek. I like my family: my parents, my brothers and my sister. My favourite actor is Ekbal Khan and my favourite actress is Sonal Chauhan.

Everybody has an ambition in life and even I have one. My ambition is that someday I will become the biggest lawyer in India. I will always fight for the justice of the people. I will always try working for the betterment of the people of India. I will live in Bardoli. I will live with my parents and my brothers and sister. I will drive an Activa.

Autobiographies!

Hey everyone!

So here's a sample of some of the Autobiographies the students have written in our Spoken English classes. We hope you enjoy them!

Introducing…Yashpalsinh Kishoresinh Rana

My name is Yashpal. I am studying in standard 9-F. I am very happy when I am with my friends. My father’s name is Kishoresinh. He is a farmer. My mother’s name is Kumudben. She is a housewife. I have one brother. His name is Raviraj. He is studying in standard 7-B. He is twelve years old. My grandparents also live with me. I am fourteen years old.

I was born on 25th January 1995. I liked to play with my friends when I was little. My friends were very happy with me. I enjoyed my little life. I was born in Kim in Mamta Hospital. My brother was born on 31st January 1997. He was very funny when he was a little boy. My brother was a very naughty boy. I studied in standard 8-H last year. My brother studied in 6th-B last year. I was good in my little life. I was very fat in my little life.

When I grow up, I will be an ITI Engineer. I will live in Surat. I will drive a Honda City, I will live with my wife, my child and my parents. I will have a dog, a lovebird, and a parrot in my house.

Lights. Camera. Action!

This past week has been extremely hectic here in Kadod.

At about 5:00 am early Monday morning, I was woken up by Cat and Melissa. I was told that I was to replace Cat (who was sick) and travel to Vidyanagar with Principal Mahida and Melissa. We had a meeting with at the H.M. Patel Institute of English Training and Research in Vidyanagar about implementing the SCOPE (Society for Creation of Opportunities through Proficiency in English) program at KHS. ). After a 5 hour drive on the rocky roads of Gujarat during which we made many stops to meet the Principal’s brothers and sisters along the way, we finally made it to Vidyanagar, the education capital of Gujarat! This town is amazing—it was filled with students of all ages going to and from school. In Vidyanagar, we spoke with R. P. Jadeja (Director) and Surendra Gohil (teaching faculty) about the SCOPE program and its possible implementation. We also learned a little bit about the history of the Institute: it was started in 1965 by H.M. Patel, who also played a role in the Partition of India. Although there was a lot of opposition to the creation of the institute in the beginning because people did not see the worth of English on Gujarat, especially after British rule, Patel gradually gained support. The Institute is now one of the only Institutes of Advanced studies in Education and English in India. The SCOPE Program, which is an initiative by the Gujarat government, is a program through which students can gain teacher training in English. We were told that it is extremely useful for those planning on going abroad in the future.

Back at school, we’ve been working on a Dialogue Project for the past week in our Spoken English classes. Students worked hard on Tuesday and Wednesday, writing their own skits in which each member of the group played an important role in the scenes they portrayed. On Friday, it was finally time to see what everyone had come up with! All the groups performed their dialogues for the class….and they were truly hilarious!!!! In my all boys 5:00 pm class, one of the groups performed a scene that took place at a post office. Another group had created a restaurant dialogue; one student, who was a customer, ordered some food from the waiter at a restaurant….only to find a mosquito in his pizza! Luckily, the manager, gave the customer another pizza! In another scene in Priya’s class, students put on a robbery scene. These students are seriously amazing actors and actresses. I was so proud of them and the show they had put on for the class!
The Bank Scene! A Visit to the Doctor's Office!
In other news, we also planned a little 4th of July party in our home. We invited the Principal Mahida, his wife, their sons Yashpalbhai and Jaydeepbhai, and Yashpalbhai’s wife, Sejalben, for dinner and after-dinner festivities! In order to bring a little of America to Kadod, we bought American-style Sour Cream and Onion chips to serve as appetizers. We also bought cheese (Amul cheese that is….), and tomatoes and bread to make little sandwiches. Cat and Melissa even made flags and “Happy 4th of July” signs to decorate our living room! After our guests arrived, we ate the appetizers and chatted. We then ate a delicious meal of Chinese Manchurian and noodles that had been prepared for us. After we had finished eating, we went outside to set off the fireworks we had bought earlier in the day. Even though it had rained all day long and it was windy and wet, we eventually managed to light the sparklers and fireworks! It was so much fun! Even the hostel boys came out to see what all the commotion was about! The celebrations were a great end to the week and we were so glad that the party we’d been planning for days worked out so well!

OK well school just ended and students are all running out of classes in every direction like caged animals that have just been let loose! Spoken English class is just about to start….so until next time!

Vanisha

Our Fun Weekend!

Hi everyone!

Last week Vanisha introduced herself and told you a little bit about our work lives here in Kadod, so now it’s my turn to tell you a little bit about our personal lives! But first, let me introduce myself: My name is Priya Garg, and I graduated from Emory University this past May where I majored in International Studies and minored in Spanish. I became very interested in the Nanubhai Education Foundation because of my prior experience in teaching English to immigrants through a program called Project SHINE during my college years.

So this past weekend was one filled with discovery, walking, and sodas. On Saturday, Vanisha and I, along with Melissa and Cat, wandered around Kadod in order to find interesting sights and to get out of the house for a bit. We walked to the famous mango tree where some of the teachers at the high school had taken Melissa and Cat earlier in the week to get mangoes for our home. After looking at the tree and taking some pictures, we continued on to the hospital which was further down the road. We walked right up to the front door, but then stood about as we were unsure whether we were allowed in or not. We quickly decided that it was too hot to stand in the heat and decided to walk back onto the main street; once there, we decided to walk down even further as the street leading away from Kadod was extremely shady and we were quite hot! All four of us walked down that road for about 2 kilometers, looking at the scenery and occasionally getting scared by stray dogs or goats that would come into our path. Finally, after a long walk down that road, we decided to turn around and visit Rajasthan, the most famous ice cream parlor in Kadod. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to relax under a fan and eat delicious mango ice cream after such a long walk!

After we finished eating our quickly melting ice cream, we decided to visit the public garden, which was very close to the parlor. However, once we got there, we realized that the garden was not yet open to the public! After taking a few pictures from the road, we decided to continue on down the road to see what else we could find. Cat had mentioned there was a temple nearby, so we set out to find it and pay our respects. However, we never found the temple! We walked further and further down the road, but no temple was to be seen! Finally, we decided to turn around both because of our mounting disappointment and because of my feet: I was wearing flip flops that were rubbing my feet raw and I desperately wanted to get some new shoes! We walked home slowly to accommodate my injuries, and lo and behold! We found the temple! We became very excited, but then we came across another problem – we couldn’t figure out how to reach it from the road! We finally decided to admire it for a bit from where we were, and then headed back to town, our home, and my stash of Band-Aids.

The next day, some of the boys from Vanisha and my spoken English classes came to our house to take us for a tour of Kadod. We were really excited that the boys were taking us out, and we quickly gathered our things and headed for the door. We had been taken on a tour by some girls a few weeks earlier, so we were hoping they would show us something new. The first place the boys took us to was the greenhouse here in Kadod! We were so happy with this wonderful surprise! The greenhouse was huge, filled with hundreds of Berber flowers of different colors – pink, white, red, orange, and others! We took tons of pictures and then continued on our tour.

Next, the boys took us through a neighborhood where we ended up at one of their houses, Amin’s. There, his family warmly welcomed us in, and his cousin offered to put mendhi, or henna, on our hands. I eagerly stepped forward and she put some of the most beautiful designs on my hands! Melissa and then Cat had their mendhi done as well; Vanisha decided to get her done later, so it would be fresh for a wedding she is planning to go to in a few weeks.

Now, while we were extremely happy to get our mendhi done, we came across some hilarious difficulties as well! First, Amin’s family insisted that we drink some Limcas they had bought for us, but it was very difficult to hold the bottles with our hands still wet! Then, after Amin’s house, the boys lead us to at least four other houses, where all the families insisted we drink sodas as well! We finally begged the last house to forgive us this once, but we could not drink any more sodas because we were so full! The family graciously let us off the hook, but made us promise to visit again soon.

When we finally came back home, we waited for about an hour longer, and then scraped the dried mendhi off our hands to unveil the most beautiful designs we had ever seen! Melissa, Cat and I were so happy with our newly decorated hands! We decided then and there that we would get it done again as soon as these designs faded!

Ok, well that’s it for now! Please come back soon for more posts!

Best,
Priya

Welcome!

Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Summer 2008 blog!

My name is Vanisha Gandhi and I am interning with the Nanubhai Education Foundation for 10 weeks this summer in Kadod! I’m extremely excited to be here! Before I start describing some of my experiences in Kadod, I will tell you a little bit about myself: I’m a junior at Stanford University and I am majoring in Human Biology with a concentration in Health, Education, and Development in Underserved Communities. In addition to serving as an intern for the Nanubhai Education Foundation, I have also received a Haas Summer Fellowship to conduct research on curriculum at Kadod high school in hopes of starting a project-based summer enrichment program.

So Priya (the other Intern) and I have been teaching Spoken English classes for students in the 9th standard at Kadod High school for about a week now. All of the students are so enthusiastic and motivated to learn. Everyday, we teach 2 classes of 9th graders in the morning, and 1 class in the evenings. We have been studying the past, present and future tenses with all the students for the past week. We’ve also been practicing vocabulary by reading Dr. Suess books like “The Very Bad Bunny,” which was a huge hit, and by playing the favorite games of Hangman and Pictionary! We’re also starting our Autobiography Project. The 9th standard students are writing about their lives using the past, present and future tenses, and then they are illustrating their autobiographies!

When we’re not teaching, Priya and I’ve been hanging out in the Computer Lab (which is huge!) with Dhirenbhai, Nitinbhai, Shilpaben and a few of the computer teachers at Kadod HS! We’ve also been talking with the math, Gujarati and Sanskrit teachers at Kadod HS, and shadowing classes to learn about how the education system in Gujarat works. All of the teachers are extremely nice and helpful—they even promised they would teach me how to read and write in Gujarati!

During our first weekend here, Priya, Cat, Melissa and I ventured outside of Kadod! On Saturday, we all went to Bardoli to do some shopping with Dhirenbhai (the computer specialist), his sister and his cousin. We bought lots of new clothes to wear at school and got amazing discounts thanks to Dhirenbhai’s sister and cousin! On Sunday, we all walked to the Causeway, a local hangout that is apparently 2 km away! More on the Causeway in future posts….

Well, that’s it for now, but I promise I will post again soon! I’ll be sure to post lots of pictures as well!

Vanisha

Welcome to our 2008 Photoblog!

This year we're are very excited to have 2 year-long fellows through Princeton in Asia, Cat and Melissa, as well as two summer interns, Priya and Vanisha, in Kadod.

Please check back often to learn more about their work and life in Kadod, India.