India Service Program Blog

Friday November 4, 2011

“All religions, arts and sciences are the branches of same tree” Einstein

Today is our last day so we started with heavy heart as we have been getting used to the people here and now we have to leave.

I went to Grace School as usual to teach the 3, 4 and 5^th grade classes. They were aware that this was my last day so they kept on asking when I will come back. I mixed the English and Arithmetic teaching with stretching exercises and some singing to break the monotony. It was hard to say goodbye to the students and the teachers as they were so nice to us. The students and teachers gave us letters expressing their thanks to us for being there and asking if we will be back. Eileen and Sherie had gone to Assisi to work with the young children there and said their goodbyes to them. In the afternoon Eileen & Sherie visited the Grace School to do their last teaching classes there. They also received many letters from the students expressing there love for them and wanting them to come back next year. It was genuine expressions of gratitude by them.

In the afternoon we made our usual visit to the SEAM orphanage, where we did not teach, but have them play games in the courtyard. It was fun to watch them play and watch their enthusiasms for the games. They played two Indian games- Kabaddi and Koko, which are not common outside India, so we enjoyed learning them. It was again sad to say goodbye to them also. They performed some songs for us and we even joined them in some dances.

After a great dinner at a restaurant nearby, our day was over.

As we finished our two weeks here all of us felt that it was a great experience in more ways than one. It was a good teamwork with good leadership from our local host. We hope we made some difference in the lives of these children and adults with whom we interacted.

Shankha

Thursday November 3, 2011

Life is too deep for words,

Don’t try to describe it.
Just live it. - Unknown

Only one day left, how can this be.

We left for our morning work with showers still in the air and very slippery mud on the road.  Shankha was happy again with his students at Grace School and later joined Sherrie and me at Assisi.  We had a very busy morning with fourteen daycare children who were enjoying some of the new books we got at the store the other night.  Some of them are really trying to make English sounds.  The sisters had invited us to stay for lunch today which was a south Indian feast.  

In the afternoon we headed to Grace School and continued our English conversation with the students.  I can maybe see some improvement in the fourth and fifth grade even in this short bit of time. 

We spent time again at SEAMS this evening.  The children there really thrive on the one to one attention that is really lacking in their lives.  Tomorrow evening I begin my three plane trip back to Boston.  An unforgettable experience here in Chennai.

Eileen

Wednesday November 2 ,2011

We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity.  That the happiness of one person or nation is the happiness of humanity. - Dalai Lama

Because of the heavy rains there is no school for the children at the Assisi orphanage.  That means we have a bigger job with more children and a lot more energy.  We did coloring, stories, songs and some one-on-one reading.  Stephen (Raja) organized a ball toss game which everyone enjoyed.

Grace school was in session today so we had our normal schedule there and we attended Seams as usual later in the day.

The big event of the evening was going to Stephens parents home for dinner. Stephens’s warm and gracious parents served a delicious dinner.

Sherie

Tuesday November 1, 2011

“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that at least do not harm others” Dalai Lama

As usual after a great breakfast we were off to our tasks. I went to teach the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders at the Grace School. I started with the 3^rd graders with English, followed by more English for the 4^th graders and finished the morning with the 5^th grade arithmetic lessons. I gave them some simple problems to solve and it was fun to see who finishes it first. We are doing some stretching exercises before the start in all my classes.

Sheri and Eileen went to Assisi for the usual work with the kids there. Today Carlos had joined us also for our rounds. They loved him at the Grace school as he plays with them a lot.

In the afternoon Sheri & Eileen went to Grace School and they had prepared themselves more to be even more efficient. Carlos accompanied them also. They were happy by their interactions there.

We went to Seam a bit early as we had some engagements later in the evening. I had three kids to teach in the hour that I had there. I grilled them with right pronunciations and phonics. One of the new children needed more help than others. A new student (a girl) was quite good at reading. Sheri and Eileen also have been trying their best to get points across so that the pronunciations of the students get better. We had to cut our visit short as I had to leave for a dinner engagement and others were going for shopping. Our roads near the Guest House are getting rougher as the rains damage the surface, but we are managing to get in and out somehow. Stephen is doing a great job of transporting us all over the place.

Shankha