BEEP BEEP BEEP that’s my alarm going off at six fifteen in the morning and that’s how I know my day is about to begin. I get out my bed and splash cold water on my face to wake myself up. After this I head into the bathroom to shower. Then I change into my school clothes (for school I wear Indian attire). By the time I’m done it’s already seven fifteen in the morning a whole hour has gone by. I brush my hair and make a braid. Afterwards I drink some chai because I mean who can say no to chai… in India (that’s just not a thing here). I brush my teeth and at the same mange to order an uber to get to school. I forgot to mention my school is 16 km away from my house(Btw yes they use km here to measure distance not miles so if you’re wondering that’s in miles it’s 10 miles). Thankfully since I live in a more busy area there’s always an uber five minutes away.
(This is what it looks like on my way to school)
School starts at seven thirty in the morning. It takes about thirty minutes to forty minutes to get my school that with or without traffic. I usually leave by seven thirty in the morning and arrive at eight or sometimes eight ten. As soon as I arrive I go to class and take about three or four kids. We work on the alphabet and the sounds. I make them write down the letters five times and say the sounds. Then I give them basic words and have them sound it out. Some get it on the first try. Others take a while but they get there. I try to look for new methods to teach them if one way doesn’t work. Sometimes I take them individually because it’s easier for them.
Parchi and Mrunal having lunch.
Chirag and I just being silly
Some of the kids and me.
Anas working on the times tables
RRRRINNNNGGGGG it’s nine fifty in the morning and it’s lunch time. All the kids take out their lunch boxes. They go outside the classrooms and eat their lunch among their friends. Lunch is only thirty minutes. During the second half the day I take another group or the same group and work on math with them. This week I am going to focus on fractions and measurements. I love teaching math because even though there’s a language barrier it’s easier to understand numbers(Plus I loved math when I was in elementary school). Before I know it’s already twelve forty and the bells rings again. This time it means that school is over.
Holly and I working on college apps
and planning our Independent travel days!
Plot twist: If the day happens to be Wednesday I head to the Global Citizen Year office and hang out in a cafe in front of it. I wait until it’s three in the afternoon because I so happen to have Hindi class. Hindi usually lasts about an hour and a half. From there on some us fellows decide to get together when Hindi class is over. Sometimes we like to hang out in a cafe and work on college things or grade papers. Occasionally we like to go out and get street food. Or we like to go out and get ice cream.
Here are some pictures of the communities
If the day happens to be Monday,Tuesday or Thursday I wait for my T.F.I(Teach For India) mentor and ask him if he’s doing community visits. If he is we go to a students house. Once we reach to the student’s house he does all the talking(because common I am not that good at Hindi). Although I don’t understand the majority of what’s going on I like to observe. I really like doing community visits because I get to know a little more about the students outside of school. I learn more about their environment and where they come from. I get a better sense of their community. Once the visit is over my mentor explains what was going. It’s very intriguing to see what the parent have to say about their children. We don’t really have control about how long the meeting is going to last it’s up to the parents. Sometimes it ends at two thirty, three or even four. It also just depends on how many houses we go to.
Regardless of which day it is I get home around six in the afternoon and have a cup of chai. Then I change out of my work clothes and change into something more relaxing. I splash cold water on my face and freshen up. I like to read a book or even just reflect on the day. At times I take a nap and wake up around eight p.m. That’s when I usually have dinner with my host family. They ask me how my day was and if I like dinner. We finish up around eight forty.
Before Going to sleep I like to read a little more or even read some news. I like to stay updated about what’s going on around the world. I last about an hour or so reading and then I brush my teeth.I usually sleep around ten or ten thirty p.m. And that’s a wrap on my day.
