The Original Cano (Busy Bee)

So I’m at the flat because I needed to skype with my mom. I’m waiting for my dad now to come back from mass so I can skype with him and go back to the school. I’ve been at the flat since probably 10:00am. It was a very good day as I blogged and updated all my descriptions of my photos on Facebook.

Yesterday was not a good day. Let me start by waking up. I hadn’t felt good in a while because I had diarrhea and had the urge to throw up. We woke up at 7:30 because Saturday school starts at 8 am. We immediately wanted to put on the sarees on and needed the wardens. We got into our sarees and I waited for Vittoria to put on her saree. they were almost finished when she went down on the floor. Her blood pressure went down immediately. I waited with her and took a nap. I woke up to Suzana telling me that Sir wanted to have a meeting with all of us. Sir wanted to make sure that everything was fine and that Emily would have a proper goodbye at 4pm.

I went on the internet and soon after I finished I threw up. Right next to computer. I felt horrible. I went to the hostel to change and  went to Neha’s house. BAD BAD decision. It was a one hour trip outside of Ahmedabad and they had food. I couldn’t look at food, think about food or do anything. I slept throughout the entire visit. I woke up to Suzana asking where the toilet is and I threw up… AGAIN. I wanted to leave and start tearing up. I said Sorry in Sign Language to Neha and we left. We went to the warden house and I threw up there again. We stayed there til about 4pm and then I needed to leave so that Emily wouldn’t miss her farewell party. We got to school and I slept while the other interns attended her banquet. I woke up to go to the doctor and received medicine. According to the doctor, it was because of spicy food but I truly believe that it was food poisoning. I must have eaten something and it just did not suit me right. I came to the hostel just in time to leave Emily at the airport. Good thing too because I immediately started to cry.

Emily, you will be missed so much<3.

I feel much better today and miss everyone in NYC.

29 July 2011

So it’s 1:13 pm and we have been up since 7:30. We had tea and then met Jayesh at 8 sharp. Michael didn’t come because he has what Emily has: fever and then no fever so he didn’t come with us. We took a bus for five minutes and then took a jeep to Gandhinagar which is the capital of Gujarat. It was empty when we got on but soon the jeep had almost twenty people inside it! It took about an hour to get there. We were the last stop and Jayesh knew the driver because they are friends. The drive was nice and the distinction between the two cities is noticeable. One is more green and quiet and the other is dirty and noisy. We live in the latter. It’s not that dirty but dirtier than where we visited. When we arrived and got dropped off we walked for about two minutes and arrived at his house. His wife was buying something and he instantly smiled. His wife welcomed us into their home and we started chatting with her. Their house is four rooms. One is the kitchen, toilet, washroom and living room. It’s not their house but government house. It was small but comfortable living. We were greeted with dried fruit such as raisins and nuts: cashews and almonds. We had tea for a second time. After Jayesh had his tea, he went to his mother in laws house to pick up his daughter. He indicated that it would a half hour. While he was gone, we spoke to his wife about India and suddenly we started talking about families. This was all while she was cutting up the cabbage tomato and chili pepper on the floor. She has indicated that she had three children but two had expired. We were stunned, did not what go say or how to react yet she continued on with her story. The first one was born seven months prematurely and did not have enough weight. The se nod one was five months prematurely and the same had happened. She was giving birth early be use she was working too hard. When she was pregnant with her daughter she took nine months rest at her mother’s house and had a c-section. She easily told us this and said that she had comes from a family of seven: four or five sisters and one brother. In Gujarat, they like boys so the family kept trying for a boy. At this time she was done preparing the food and she went into the kitchen to cook the food. Suzana was interested as well as Emily but I decided to take a nap. I woke up when I was told the baby is here. Jayesh’s daughter is so adorable. She was so energetic and danced. She was wearing boys clothing and dark colors and I realized that kids have no choose but to wear what their parents want them to wear but she had a say and decided that boys clothing is more comfortable for her. She’s two and a half. She talks so much and dances as well. At one point she took my purse and water bottle and went outside. Outside she had put on Emily’s flip flops and we got it! She’s a grown up. You can tell that she is loved and she even has an older best friend who looks closer to our age than to hers. She’s so intelligent. We sat down to eat and it was the size of the plate at the school but it was separated and not as oily. It was so good. We got full pretty quickly. We left soon after and went to where his wife works. She also works at a deaf school within walking distance. The school is very small but the kids were so interesting. We left and Jayesh got us a taxi but he kept making stops because he wanted more passengers and by the third stop Emily told the driver, “Can you hurry up because we don’t have much time.” He tried explaining and we called Jayesh and in the middle of the phone call the driver said here’s the bus and we got on. We are on the bus and Emily and Suzana are sleeping so I’m going to stay up to see if we are going to correct way and to figure out when to get off, the stop should be in front of the times of India but I’ll keep a look out. Until later tonight!
3:00 pm. We’ve arrived safely right in front of the times. Sir came to the hostel to welcome us back from the trip. He told us that he’s going to start to bring a teacher twice a week for jewelry making classes: diamond gold etc. We have a meeting with him at330 so nap time slash relaxing until then.
10 pm: We met with sir and tea with him. He gave Emily some brochures and then we were incited to have tea with our girl warden and then we played with Suzana’s class. After we went on the computer and met someone’s granddaughter. After dinner we took pictures with most of the girls and then chilled the rest of the night. It’s Emily’s last night.:( It’s so sad but no crying. Ahh tomorrow Saturday school starting at 8 later!!!

28 July 2011
We went to the zoo today. One class of KG got into one rickshaw! That was a sight to see! It was hot then it rained then it was sunny again. We had a lovely snack time where we got stared at by the locals because we had to take care of the kids while the teachers ate the snack. Emily didn’t go because she has a fever and Michael did not go as well. He already made a promise to go with someone else on Sunday. On the way to a little train ride I saw a nun and asked what order she was from. She indicated sister of charity and she was here with a group of students who are mentally retarded. I got to thinking maybe helping should be my passion and my occupation but maybe I want to do business and make donations and give my time to children. It got me thinking which is really good. After dinner, I sorted through all my pictures that I took from this trip. It won’t be sideways or anything. We got a food donation and after prayer time O wanted to finish the fireworks but Emily had a point in saying that we need permission to do so; we shall wait until tomorrow. While Emily went to the doctor I wanted to see the photo album that she made. I started to see what impact we have made on the kids and how we have transformed in just a matter of weeks. I honestly did not feel accomplished until I saw the album. From the competitions to celebrating one’s birthday we had done a lot. Maybe it wasn’t outright explicit but we have shown them our culture and I’m proud. I started to cry a bit because it also reminded me that Emily was leaving in two days and I’ll be a full two and half weeks without her on this internship. It is such a sad thought but we shall remember the good times together and the journeys we took together. It is night time and Emily informed us that we are having breakfast at Jayesh’s house tomorrow who is the warden for the boys at night from 8 to 11 so I should rest up.

27 July 2011
Last I wrote we were on a bus to Jaipur. Oh man that bus was annoying! There was a dude who kept going into my space. Argh. We reached Jaipur and that was Monday. We briefly ate at a restaurant and that was last time we saw Vittoria. She wanted to do her own thing and she wanted to see Jaipur. Meanwhile Suzana, Michael and myself went to the train station. There were no trains to anywhere until for a few days so Michael went to the airport and we went to the bus station. Then there were two. We went to bus station and got our tickets to Chandigarh which would leave at 830 pm and arrive at 7am. Eleven hours!!!! We took it because we had no other choice. After we book the tickets we went to city palace where we saw some pretty cool things. It was to calculate the alignment of the stars and moon. It could also calculate what time it was based on the suns positioning. After that we tried to go shopping but got distracted by a temple and a park where we came upon an Internet cafe. We stayed there for an hour to plan what to do in Chandigarh before going to the Golden Temple. There I saw it would take way too much time to get to Khajuraho so I gave up on that idea but at least I would be able to see the Golden Temple. I told Suzana after we see it we can do an adventure sport wherever you want to go except up north because as a US citizen the CIA has restrictions on traveling around the world and the north of India is one of those restricted areas. Any who we finished the Internet cafe and walked again to city palace where I saw a beautiful table cloth for 90 rs. I was looking for one and finally saw what I wanted. I got one with good material for 12 for 325 rs. I like it and hope to see that who I’m thinking about giving it to will like it as well. We got a cycle rickshaw and finally saw the markets of Jaipur. It was so pretty. It was twenty minutes and we had our luggage so we paid the guy 100 rs. We got to the bus station and just waited. In the bus we switched seats with this son and his mother and obviously they knew the people behind us because they kept talking to them. It was a long 11 hours. Thankfully I slept most of the way but the lady in the back of me kept pulling my hair and kicking and pulling and pushing he chair. Then the woman in front of me went all the way back and I had no leg room. Oh also the woman behind me didn’t allow me close the window so I heard everything as well as had the breeze in my face and back the entire time. When they got off all four of them I finally slept comfortably. When we got to Chandigarh we had to go to this hotel where there would be a tour bus for only 50 rs. It was one fancy hotel where we got to brush our teeth and use their restroom to the fullest to our advantage. We waited an hour and half and the tour finally started at 10am. We went to several gardens as well as a museum. My favorite was the rock garden. It had several waterfalls and the sculptures were awesome as well. We got off at the shopping center where we found another internet cafe to find a deluxe bus. We would paid the price because we just wanted to be comfortable! We took a bus from sector 17 to another bus in sector 43. We waited an hour, ate something briefly and got on a deluxe bus to Amritsar. We got to the gate where we were stopped by police. We were in a rush so we kept standing up but they just kept telling us information. It was helpful information because we stayed at an accommodation for free. We slept on the floor but still for free. The Golden Temple, from what I understand, is the most sacred place for those in the Sikh religion. Most people make pilgrimages to here so they accommodate foreigners as well. Suzana and I stayed at the complex and then went around. This temple is absolutely beautiful at night. It’s small but the people are so friendly and devote that it’s such a sight to see. After seeing the Golden Temple, we went to an Internet cafe to plan our next steps. We slept at 12 and woke up at 9. I couldn’t sleep well but it didn’t matter as much to me because I slept on the bus from Chandigarh to Amritsar, hours before. Suzana did not and was passed out and had a good sleep thankfully. We ate at cafe where we planned to go to Diu or at least attempt to. We got to the free shuttle when it started to rain then pour. It was sunny one minute and pouring the next. We are at the train station waiting to buy a ticket to go to Delhi at this point. From Delhi we hope to reach Ahmedabad and go to Diu. Hope everything turns out well! We need to wait two hours to buy our tickets and then wait another hour for the train to arrive. This is one adventure I won’t forget.
3:00 pm. Ahh we are on the train! Something I forgot to write down is that I saw transvestites in Agra! I guess everyone would like to express themselves no matter which country they are in.
Haha so Chandīgarh is by far the most eco-friendly city, I have seen in India.

1:00 am: We got to the train station and they were inconstant so we are at the airport and bought our tickets. The reason we decided to go the easy way and go by plane because the railway kept telling us different information. There were way too many people and kept touching Suzana. The airport is safe convenient and yet it is costly but we have the money for it and we just want to go home. It may seem like we are giving up but we aren’t.
We arrived in Ahmedabad and we got ripped off by a rickshaw. What else is new? We are so happy to be back. We finally showered and it is just nice to be back.

25 July 2011
I last wrote writing on the bus to Agra from Delhi. We arrived in Agra around one in the afternoon and bargained for a rickshaw. We spent two hours at the Taj Mahal. It was built for the queen and she was buried there as well with her husband, the king. Afterwards we went to Agra fort and spent about an hour there. Later we saw Baby Taj which was really a tomb. We ate, saw Vittoria’s friend and got a room. We also got a room for Suzana and Emily since they would be coming in at three in the morning. We really liked Baby Taj because it was quiet and not that many tourists went. The best thing about the Taj Mahal is that the colors are from real gems, the kind you put on an actual ring. The marble is translucent and just the size is just wow. It left me in awe.
I was told that I don’t have a typical New York accent, which is what I was told from Noah the Habitat for Humanity supervisor in April.
Yesterday I started my sixth week here. I can’t believe time has flown by so quickly! Yesterday Suzana and Emily woke us up at six thirty in the morning to let us know that they were going to the Taj. We were sleeping so it was unexpected. They got back around nine and we were awake. We had breakfast and Emily had to leave so she could catch the bus to Jaipur to catch her flight. Michael got sick so we had to leave him and he stayed in the room the entire day. We left our luggage with him. We saw Sikhandra which is where Akbar’s tomb is located. We then went to the bus station to Fatehpur Sikri which is where Akbar built his palace to show that he had money as well as show off that he respected all three religions at the time: Hindu, Christianity and Muslim. It was crowded and seemed like a hangout place. It was a Sunday afternoon after all. It was just strange to me. It is a difference of culture, I would like to think so. The bus back took two hours and we got back to the hotel to eat and plan for where we want to go next. Plans are to go to Golden Temple then Chandigarh then Khajuraho then Rewa then Ahmedabad. Michael is going back via train today and Vittoria will explore in rajastan. Til later!

23 July 2011

The last time I blogged was on Wednesday night. On Thursday, it was the fifth grade standard turn to compete. I had a fever in the morning and did not want to leave my bed. According to the doctor, I was ordered to rest. I was going to join in for the judging of the drawing competition around 12 pm when Emily come to the hostel and tells me that the teacher is not here yet so we can’t do it. We shall do sports first and then drawing. We decided to do musical chairs first and then sack race. I went up and finally showered. I felt so much better and clean! I went down to help judge the drawing competition and then snack time! We gave out the prizes and spoke to sir soon after about our plans. After I realized that sarcastic girl thought I was angry at her. This was the third time this week. I explained I’m not angry just sick; stomach problems are not a good thing.  She finally got the idea and left it alone. Prakash was supposed to meet us in the evening. I wasn’t going because of being sick, but he never showed, which is very unlike him. It turned out to be better because we got to pack and sleep for a bit. I went for my checkup with Vittoria and I received more medicine for three days. The doctor indicated that I had a fever because of the weather changing. Afterwards the girls just started asking about boyfriends and told us about their drama with boys. While that conversation was going on, I wanted to know birthdays and ages of girls that I’m friends with. One girl is older than me by a couple of months. It’s weird to think that. A girl who is in charge is two years younger which makes sense as to why the girls respect her.
I woke up at 330 to shower, had tea and left for the airport. Everything went smoothly. Suzana lost her reader but is getting it today. We went and took a bus to old Delhi. We saw a mosque and then went to the Red Fort. I hadn’t eaten at that point so I didn’t go and neither had Suzana. We ate at subway and then she fell through a hole in the ground so we got Baskin Robbins. We stayed there for a bit just chilling because it was also a bookstore. We left and found a pizza hut and ordered something to eat. We finally met up with the other interns at Pollo Campero! Si la I dia tiene pollo campero. Es increíble! Sorry pollo campero is a famous restaurant that I know of in Guatemala, fast food place similar to KfC but way better! There are a couple of them in New York but not to same taste. I didn’t try it so I was not be able to judge the chicken here.
After we tried to find a tourist place but there are so many imitators that we couldn’t find the right one until three minutes before it closed. It gave us advice about what to do and we were sure of our housing with an AIESEC’er that we went to another temple. We took the metro and it was faster and cooler than New York, honestly. We didn’t get there on time so see the temple so we called the AIESEC’er and didn’t answer. We were tired and frustrated at this point that we just got a hotel and just slept. The room was amazing and worth the money that we spent.
Today we woke up at 515 to shower and left around 7 to get a bus. Now I’m on the bus and going to sleep.

15 July 2011

So I sucked at running. Big surprise. Yesterday was the third standard competition. It went by quickly but despite explaining the rules the night before we had to continuously stop to prevent them from pushing, shoving, holding, etc… Only one girl from the hostel won and that was third place for running. I kept telling Jil that you will get first but in the end she didn’t win anything. It was okay because she was still a winner in my eyes. She’s warmed up to us, so it’s all good with her.

After the competition, I went to my class and they updated me about the day. They told me who got hit, who was good, who finished their class work and other things. I found it funny that they would tell me this. After the break, all the interns gathered and asked the secretary for permission to go to a mini trip next weekend. We plan on flying to Delhi, take an overnight bus to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, go to Jaipur and then Suzana and I will go to conference in Silvasa which is two hours from Bombay. Michael and Vittoria will go exploring in Rajasthan while Emily will go back to Ahmedabad since it’s her last week. We all plan on coming back on the 29th hopefully since Emily is leaving on the 30th. Next Tuesday we want to plan a bonfire for the hostel kids. I want fireworks and to make s’mores. I’m excited. This weekend we will go to Udaipur.

We went to see Delhi Belly, a Bollywood movie and slept at Namita’s to see Harry Potter in the morning. It didn’t go as planned and we left Namita’s to eat out only to get a text saying the film is ready. We ended up watching it at 5:30 pm and it was so good!

After we came back from Namita’s and before we went to see Harry Potter, we went back to the hostel, to finish our day. The sir knew what that we were leaving and we didn’t tell him the exact details. I went to my class for a while and learned some words in Gujarati. Vayshali asked me to do flashcards with the kids. This game certainly helped me to learn some words as well as seeing the kids do it repeatedly. Today went by quickly and we are on our way to Udaipur. We should get there around seven so I wish to sleep. Good night!

16 July 2011
Ha ha seven! We got a surprise at 3:30 this morning when we got dropped off in Udaipur. We waited around and the Jagdash temple was open at 5 am. We slept for a little bit while they prayed and left around six thirty to go to the lake. We ate around seven and then went to the palace at nine. We spent several hours at the palace. The family has three palaces, one for each season, monsoon, winter and autumn. After the palace we went shopping and killed time just to eat again. Then we made plans to do things but the charges were expensive for foreigners. We wanted to go on a garden via lake but it was expensive. By the time we wanted to do something it started to pour. Suzana and I considered going where the other interns were going but we decided to do something else. We saw a movie. We met up with the other interns for dinner and then left for the bus. I’m here writing on the bus once again and yeah good night!

17 July 2011

We got in at 4:30 am today. We told the rickshaw to leave us at McDonald’s which is five minutes away from the school. As 5:30 approached, I told Vittoria as a joke that the gate is open all this time. After ten minutes, and she turned the lock and we were inside the premises. We took a nap or at least I did and then at 6:50, we were off to a walking tour of Old City. Ahmedabad is in two parts, New City and Old City. Old City has a lot of history. The tour started at 8 and ended at 10:30am. The retired vice-principal’s son took us to the Green House for snacks and then we went to her house, the vice principal, to meet her family and to relax. We left to go eat at 12:00 pm. We then went back to the school and we decided to go to the flat. I’ve spoken to my best friend and my family. I can say that I really have enjoyed my time in India so far. Vittoria and I will go to the school now because we are tired and need to be back on time.

13 July 2011

Again I had a dream with the baby. Rick was holding it and Rebecca had bought clothes and supposedly born prematurely. I hope everything is okay with the baby. I don’t know why I keep dreaming about the baby.

Today, Prakash said we could see a Bollywood movie and he’ll tell me about the HP tickets. Hopefully, we can get the premiere tickets.

I blogged about the above yesterday. Now to tell you what happened yesterday. At 11:30, our usual meeting with the principal went fine. We told him that we wanted standard 3 to practice and told us that we should see a teacher about the games and we did. We wanted to make sure that the games we had for them were safe. We spent about ten minutes discussing the games and we would start practice at 1:00 pm. We went to our respective classrooms and I read my book. There was nothing to do since the students were already assigned class work and were copying. I spoke to my teacher and she said, “When you are done with standard 3, you can play games with them.” Perfect. The bell rung for break at 1:00pm and while my students were starting to eat, I left to meet up with the other interns. Standard 3 is a bit more complicated and as the children get older, they are a bit more adventurous to go against the teacher. We had to keep to repeat things and it wouldn’t stick in their minds. It was a bit frustrating when everyone in the class would congratulate the winner after every game. It was just the practice round so today wouldn’t matter. It would matter tomorrow.

We played three games: musical chairs, obstacle course, and barrier. Obstacle course was a bit different because they had to start out by running in the playground and then had to go around the chairs. Barrier was a game where we had the bell and when the bell stopped then the children needed to get on the border of the playground, which was above ground and stay there. They could not move or run. If they did then any of the four catchers could possibly get them out.

We had to continue the games until after snack and then finally I went to my classroom around 3:45. After the break, I got to play some of the games that we had played with standard two. After school, we went and booked tickets to go to Udaipur. Emily said it’s a good thing to travel now instead of later for her because we have one weekend left with her. We leave Friday night at 9:30 to arrive at Udaipur at 7:00am. We leave Udaipur at 10pm to arrive in Ahmedabad at 4:00am. It’s better this way because the heritage walk of Ahmedabad will start at 7:00 am. We will have to sleep on the bus and thankfully we booked sleepers. We also started to plan our trip to Agra. We spoke with Prakash, the night before, about the trip and he gave us some suggestions: take a train to Delhi or New Delhi, spend a day there, then take an overnight bus to Agra, see the Taj Mahal and see Agra, then take another overnight bus to Jaipur, and spend a day there. I was thinking that instead of returning home, Suzana and I go immediately to the intern conference which will be two hours away from Mumbai. We spend the 26^th to the 28^th there, go to Mumbai on the 29^th, come back on the 30^th and say goodbye to Emily. This was before we heard that there was a blast in Mumbai. Now we are not so sure of our plans.

We didn’t go out yesterday because something came up for Prakash so we’ll see the Delhi Belly today and Harry Potter tomorrow! After dinner, I played a little bit and practiced with the hostel girls, who are in standard 3, so that they can be prepared for tomorrow. Afterwards, the younger girls wanted to play so they asked me to play the other games, which we started to play inside in the hostel. The older girls even liked the games!

Update on sarcastic girl: she made up with her friend so it’s all good now. Some of the girls are fasting for five days, from the Hindu religion, so that they can marry good husbands when they are older. I spoke to my teacher about this yesterday and she said there are no longer arranged marriages anymore. It’s very rare to find it but the parents must agree to the person that they want to marry. Suzana and I are going to run. See ya later.

12 July 2011

Weird dream today! I had a dream that I had a baby and that it was only being fed three times of day instead of ever three hours. Odd. I also imagined that the new baby would be a boy. I think I’m dreaming about babies because I’m with the girls and I’m home sick and wondering what going on back at home.

I can’t wait for HP!

I’m writing in the morning of the 13^th. We had a competition and it was for Second Standard. We took the entire morning just practicing for it. After 1:00, we finally started the competition. We had done froggy relay: where the boys and girls who run the fastest froggy style moves on. The next competition was baton where we had two people on one side and one on the other side. They were supposed to pass the “baton,” we used a bottle as a baton, to the next person. The next competition was, “Red light, green light, one, two, three!” It was so much fun. They were so excited. There were several girls in our hostel that won. One girl was so close to winning all three competitions but she was so careful for the last one that she came in fourth.

We finished the competition around 4:00 pm and then Suzana and I went into her class and try to teach them a couple of games. They learned Seven Up but they got bored with that quickly. I rang the bell that lets everyone knows that school is over and it was so exciting!!! Prakash came and picked us up at 7 with Shail, the LCP, which was a nice surprise, for dinner at Upper Crust. Upper Crust is an international restaurant, good food. It was our third time being there. We started talking and thinking about Emily leaving, and we started to get teary eyed. She is leaving on the 30^th and we only have so much precious time together. It’s been an emotional week to say the least.

Last night, sarcastic girl, the girl who when I was here, was my only friend, then everyone started to like me, was telling me about a fight between herself and another girl in the hostel. She was crying and sad. It made me think about all my fights and how silly they were at that age. She’s turning 15 this year. Her name is Nelu. They have yet to make up and they stayed up talking til midnight. They were so upset that they couldn’t sleep. We locked them in the bathroom so that they could make up and they still haven’t. Computer time in the office now.

11 July

Today is my cousin’s birthday, Sarita (Sara) who is 22. Feliz Cumpleanos!! I was journaling while the kids were writing on their slates. The classroom is filled with posters that has numbers, colors, animals, parts of the body, birds, flowers and articles of clothing in Guajarati. This is so they can copy off of it instead of being told what to write. It seems pretty efficient. They learn like that. I don’t know about other classes. Suzana told me that the teacher actually writes on the board and tells them to write down what to do for the day and they have to do it. This reminds me of elementary school when a teacher was out for the day and we would have the entire day to do the class work and whatever we didn’t finish would be homework.

12:56- was the time that I asked the deaf teacher when time it was; she looked at her mobile (cell phone) and that was the time. It takes about a half hour to forty five minutes to eat. It’s a good school schedule. 11:30- School starts. Break. Another break at 2:30 and then another at 4 and then leave at 5.

After snack, we were told that we are supposed to get measured for our blouses for our sarees. The arms didn’t fit me but the bust was a bit small and needed tightening. We tried on sample blouses which is how I can say that we needed to fix things. Suzana needed the bust to be bigger and Vittoria’s sample was fine for her.

After snack, we decided that we wanted to go to the computer (office) and research some things to do for the weekend. Vittoria doesn’t want to go on the heritage walk this Sunday since we already explored the city with the other project interns while we were in conference. We were thinking Palitana, Udaipur or other places. We tried to do this and kept talking to the Secretary about the school. We learned a couple of things which I wrote down.

For the deaf and mute kids, after 5^th Standard, the kids are allowed to start repeating the grade if they fail. They need to take and entrance exam in order to get into 8^th standard. The reason for this is because there are 4 classes of 7^th standard and the government will only allow one class of 8^th standard so only the best students are allowed into 8^th standard. If you are not selected to go to 8^th standard, students can go to the tailor, press or embroidery department. After the students pass 10^th standard, they have the option to now go to computer class or the other departments. They do not study anymore; they have to choose a department. The Secretary is planning to open up a fashion design department in a few years. It would be open only for students who have passed the 10^th standard like the computer department. It would be the first fashion design institute in India and it would be only open to deaf and mute students.

For the blind students, the same rule applies regarding the 5^th standard. They do not have an entrance exam into 8^th standard. Once they finish the 12^th standard, they can choose to do several things such as: physiotherapy, music, or computer. The department where the students do the chair with nylon and choir is part of the regular class.

The Secretary wants the students to be independent by allowing them to choose a skill instead of what he says it is like in the USA, which is teach them Sign Language and if they get a job, they get a job. If they do not, then they will be supported by the government. He said that when he went to the USA, teachers were stunned that the classes aren’t in full sign language but in the local language. He uses hearing aids so that they can learn to lip read and allow them to use their hearing and be able to use their skills that they have learned.

The conversation was so interesting because I want to learn more about the system in the USA when I get. While that conversation was going on, I wanted to use the internet when two teachers, just started to read my e-mails and felt very exposed. I was reading an e-mail from my parents and like most parents, they were worried that they hadn’t heard from me in a while and were checking up on me. I instantly got offline and allowed them to use the internet. During dinner, I started to feel homesick and am still feeling the effects of being homesick. I started to cry. It’s the first time I cried and I didn’t think that it would have hit me like it did. It’s not easy to read, “We started crying while reading your e-mail,” or “I miss you” so many times. It starts to get to you. It was frustrating because we were trying to get rickshaw to go to the flat and they kept overcharging us. We finally got to the flat but later than expected. It was nice to finally send an e-mail and let my parents know that I am alive. For those who don’t know, there was a train accident in the north and my parents knew I was traveling but I knew to be specific enough to say by bus. They were just worried about me, which is understandable. I went on Facebook and started looking and photos and realizing that I am missing a lot. I saw Ashley’s new hair color, Ana’s status about everyone being mad at her (which I don’t get? Haha).

Yes, I’m going through culture shock and I’m homesick but that doesn’t mean I want to go home. I miss everyone back at home and I feel like I’m distancing myself from the girls because of that. I have to remember that I have a job to do and my feelings aren’t about the girls and I have to distinguish those feelings. Until tomorrow!