Explore India Blog
In 2005, the Fish Family Foundation funded a trip to Japan for Yawkey Club of Roxbury members. Club members had to meet a variety of requirements in order to qualify for this opportunity, including academic success and active participation in Club-run workshops on Japanese language and culture. Based on that success, the Fish Family Foundation has expanded the program.
In February 2012, the Yawkey Club took a trip to India. Participating Club members share their impressions of the country, culture and food as they planned for and experienced their once-in-a-lifetime journey. Please read their essays below.
Seva Mandir addresses the needs of rural Rajasthan by Daniel Creese, age 16
Posted February 27, 2012
I enjoyed myself today spending the entire time visiting an NGO (non-government organization) called Seva Mandir. Before this stop we had explored ancient (temples, palaces, and forts), cultural (food, clothing, and shopping) and modern (Fidelity International) aspects of India. This was the first opportunity to dig into the social issues that India is struggling with today. We began to get a good grasp of the educational challenges of this growing nation.
This non-profit started in 1968 and was founded by Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta. Its goals are to address issues of encroachment (land difficulties), health (malnutrition and high rates of infant mortality), and education (low literacy rates especially among women). We focused our time in the rural education setting visiting a boarding school and day schools in small villages. The kids we met ranged in age from 4 to 14. The kids are divided by their educational abilities, Group A, Group B, and Group C.
We were lucky enough to be able to enter into many classrooms for observations. In the first classroom we visited, the students were learning English and math. The kids sang for us common Indian songs and poems. For example, one student sang about Vishnu's wife and another sang about the life of a fish. In return, we taught them American songs and games such as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” "Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and "Duck-Duck-Goose." We had a lot of fun meeting people such as Kanwal, a student who wants to be a teacher, and Ranjeet, who wants to be an airplane pilot. In a second school we visited, we learned that the children are mainly taught Hindi and math. I really enjoyed listening to a Hindi call-and-response that lasted six minutes!
This has been an incredible experience that the Explore India Program has provided me, and this day in particular is a day that I definitely will not forget.
Shopping in India by Aubrey Griffin, age 16
Posted February 23, 2012
There are many markets to select from in India. Our tour guide, Sanjay, has exposed our group to many products offered exclusively in India. For example, textiles, scarves, Pashmina shawls, and saris are very popular in India. I brought several silk scarves for friends and family. Scarves can cost up to 700 rupees ($14), while Pashmina shawls can reach up to 1,400 rupees ($24), but most places allow bargaining. Saris can be expensive depending on the material, cotton being cheaper than silk. For an even bigger splurge, some textile stores offer custom designs. The shopper selects one of the various color-filled fabrics, skims some fashion catalogues for ideas, and shows the tailor exactly what he or she wants to wear. The prices for custom design vary, but everyday clothes such as simple dresses, shirts, and shorts can range from 2,000 to 5,000 rupees ($40-100). These textile products are popular throughout India, and are commonly worn by women and girls.
In Agra, we shopped for marble and leather in addition to the textiles. Marble is hand-carved and then imprinted with precious stones such as sapphire and jade. A trendy gift is a pair of hand-crafted marble elephants, which are sacred to the Hindu religion. One elephant has a trunk reaching up, representing good luck and health, while the other elephant has a trunk pointing down, representing money and prosperity. The marble store also offers hand-crafted plates, jewelry cases, vases, and much more. In the leather goods store, we saw beautiful leather purses, wallets, belts, and jackets, which are imported to European stores and sold for designer prices. I brought a black leather jacket there, and gifts for my sister and mom in the marble store.
Another in-style product in India is jewelry, especially bangles, silver and gold, and precious stones. We traveled to a few fancy jewelry stores offering silver and gold bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and earrings. Although beautiful, they were a tad costly for the average American teenager. A much more wallet-friendly option was the jewelry store exclusive from precious stones. They offered beautiful ruby, emerald, and sapphire-studded jewelry for reasonable prices. Towards the end of our time in Jaipur, a shopping capital in India, we visited a handicraft mall filled with textile, jewelry, and handicraft stores at tremendously appreciated practical prices. My favorite was the bangles store, which presented a variety of bangles ranging from 100 to 500 rupees ($2-10). The costs were reasonable, so it didn’t even matter that they had fixed prices on goods.
Also in Jaipur, the group visited a spice market, where we were able to capitalize on the things that make India, India — the flavors. I got a variety packet of spices including cumin, masala, and curry, which I desperately hope my mom uses when I get home, and various teas, including chai and green tea. Outside the spice market was a flower market, where people were stringing flowers into leis and making perfume. The girls in our group were amazed at this genius, who could make the flowers that we saw in front of our eyes into sweet and powerful scents that we could wear home to the U.S. In my opinion, the most popular scent was opium; I think almost every girl in our group bought one.
Even if you don’t like spending money, shopping in India is #1 in the world (as far as I can see) for customer service. Even non-paying customers receive hot and cold drinks, the most popular being Cola and chai tea. Also, almost every store is open to bargaining, which means you can talk down the vendor to the price you can afford. Shopping in India has definitely been an experience, and I hope I’ll have many more to come!
Brahma Temple and a Camel Cart into the Thar Desert, by Malik Reid, age 15
Posted February 22, 2012
Today we left Jaipur for a camel safari in Pushkar. It took three hours in the bus during which I slept. When we arrived at our destination, we went to our guest house for lunch and to store our baggage. In Pushkar, all meat and eggs are banned so our meal was vegetarian. We ate rice with a small amount of spicy noodles on top.
Then we went to see the Brahma Temple. The temple is one of very few existing temples dedicated to the Hindu creator-god Brahma in India.
After that we walked through the city to get to our camels. Everyone got on a camel except me because I had motion sickness. I took a camel cart with our tour guide, Sanjay. Halfway into the safari my camel was not cooperating and I had to walk in the heat for 10 minutes. Finally, my camel started to come to me so I got back in the cart.
When we arrived at the campsite we had tea and cookies. They were really good. An hour later, a group of Rajasthani folk dancers came and danced for us. Most of us got up and started to dance with them. After the dancers finished, I saw a fire-breather do his tricks. They were really good and talented.
Next was dinner. We ate butter chicken, white rice, curry potatoes, and naan. After dinner we played a game called spoons and I came in third place. I then tried to go to bed but all I could hear were Indian people talking and dogs barking. They were stationed outside of the tents to keep animals, like the Black Buck and Indian Gazelle, away.
Jaipur — The Pink City by Nicholas Amadi, age 14
Posted February 22, 2012
We had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to head to Jaipur, otherwise known as the “ Pink City.” One of the first stops was the famous Hawa Mahal (or Palace of Winds).
All the buildings in central Jaipur are painted pink as a sign of welcome. It started when British royalty came to Jaipur over a hundred years ago. The Indian Maharaja wanted to provide a very nice welcome and the tradition has continued to this day.
Next, since Jaipur is famous for its cultural arts & crafts, we went to a textiles store. After most people bought scarves, custom-made shirts, and dresses, there was a sing-off between Dacia and Mayerlin in front of the store owner. All of the employees collected around us to hear them sing American songs. For their talents, they were both given colorful scarves for no cost.
So far we have visited many handicraft stores and I’m having fun shopping for my family. I’ve bought earrings, two scarves, a leather pocketbook, and a ring. While shopping, we have also seen how Indian tradespeople make crafts from marble and gems as well as creating fantastic pictures on fabrics from a technique called block-printing.
This trip has been very interesting and I’ve had a blast! I hope that I get to come back to India again when I’m older.
Elephants at the Amber Fort and Bollywood, by Dacia Evans, age 14
Posted February 20
Today we rode elephants. How cool is that? My elephant’s name was Muni, but I named her safety. That is because I wanted to be safe, but overall it was a great experience with a wonderful view.
The elephants marched up a steep hill to reach the Amber Fort which sits on top of a hill in the Aravalli range of hills. I thought it was very interesting. We also visited the beautiful City Palace and found out that a royal family still lives there. In fact, there is a teenage prince who is currently looking for a wife. I think I know someone who is available!
At the end of the day, we went to go see a Bollywood movie called Agneepath or The Road to Fire. It was a Hindi crime-action-drama and I liked it. There was a lot of dancing and singing. Even though it had no subtitles I could understand what was going on. The main actor, Hrithik Roshan, was VERY handsome. His character was seeking revenge on the person who killed his father.
Overall, the day was full of diverse activities and was enjoyable. I am having a great time in India!
Fidelity Business Services India, by Temitope Ashorobi, age 15
Posted February 20
On Wednesday, February 15, we Americans traveled to the Fidelity International office in Gurgaon. We learned that Gurgaon is a city that over the past 25 years has gone from a forest with few people living there to a place that has several multinational companies and 1.5 million people. Fidelity International is one of the most famous financial services companies in the world serving customers across both Europe and Asia. It is convenient for these offices to be located in India because the time zones allow Indian employees to work 9-5pm days fixing software and technology issues for Europeans so that websites are functional when people in Great Britain, Germany, and Spain wake up for the day.
While we were at Fidelity, we saw how a new class of young Indian citizens provides a living for themselves working jobs in customer service, software engineering, and business. We met John Walsh, who has worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, and now lives in India working for Fidelity. He gathered a group of business leaders from Fidelity who explained to us the business concepts of offshoring and outsourcing. They also talked about the growing Indian economy and its impact on the quality of life in India. John traveled from Bangalore to see us today. He told us about his life in this country. He has two teenage children who attend an International School in India and they have adapted well.
It was a good day and we got the chance to eat lunch in the Fidelity cafeteria. There we met many Fidelity employees. Most of them were in their 20s. They were excited to meet us which made me feel like I was a celebrity. They gave us advice on places to shop and eat. Everyday in India is like none before.
Lakshminarayan Hindu Temple and India Gate
by Chanel Cowan-Cummings, age 18
Posted February 19
Strong scents filled my nose as the plane got closer to landing in India. It was this moment I knew that I was a long way from Boston. It didn't hit me immediately that I was half way around the world, finally arriving in the place I had been learning about for the past 7 months. However, once we took those first steps out of the airport, it slowly began to sink in that we had made it to India.
Everyone was eager to board the bus and grab a window seat in order to get a good view of Delhi on the way to the hotel. I would be lying if I said I didn’t experience a culture shock during the first 20 minutes. I know I speak for my group that seeing the extreme poverty from our bus has made us appreciate the things we have and what our country does for us, things as simple as cleaning the streets.
The first morning, waking up in the hotel and realizing I was not in a dream was an unbelievable feeling. I was excited to start the first day's adventure. At the top of our agenda was a morning orientation to India covering geography, history, politics, food, and language done by an Indian instructor. This lesson actually helped refresh my knowledge of the things I learned during classes at the Boys & Girls Club. Once that was finished our group traveled to the Lakshminarayan Hindu temple to receive blessings for our trip. This place of worship was one of the most beautiful I have seen. There were paintings and statutes representing different gods throughout the temple. Of course, as a sign of respect we removed our shoes and socks upon entering. After a short period there, I began to feel a sense of inner peace and relaxation.
Our next stop was at a national monument called India Gate which was interesting beyond my expectations. I think "hawkers" or "street sellers" can smell tourists a mile away. From the moment we stepped out of our tourist bus until getting back on we were swarmed with hawkers trying to sell us souvenirs. In addition to this attention, lots of Indians wanted to take pictures with us. This made us feel like a group of celebrities. I personally have never experienced this before. We all found it kind of funny that we were receiving such treatment.
As the day progressed it was soon time for lunch which would excite any group of teens. The only thing I can say about the food here is that it’s DELICIOUS! After lunch we went to do a little shopping, but there was a twist to how we were getting there. We traveled on the Delhi Metro. It’s similar to how the T works back home but there are two major differences. First, the lead car is reserved for women only. Second, you only had 20 seconds to get on and get off. These trains can get very packed, probably five times more packed than the T. The Metro ride was quite an experience and helped us see how public transportation is helping Delhi.
Finally, we finished day one in India at an outdoor market called Dilli Haat. We browsed to see what could catch our eyes. I ended up buying two beautiful scarves for my grandmothers for 500 rupees. This is equivalent to about 10 dollars. After such a long and full first day, we couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to rest and relax. Our first day was so indescribably good that I cannot wait until tomorrow.
Taj Mahal, by Dominique Simpson, age 16
Posted Friday, February 17
Today we went to the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra. Taj Mahal means "crown of palaces." The name explains this iconic place well. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it is beautiful and mind-blowing, especially considering that it was built by hand!
Construction started in 1632 and was finished in 1654. All of that hard work paid off as India was left with an amazing piece of architecture.
Seeing the Taj Mahal definitely changed my perspective of India. It is not a place of blandness and dullness; rather, it is a place of amazing beauty. Tomorrow we are heading to Jaipur, and I am looking forward to seeing more picturesque temples and palaces like the Taj although I don't know how they could compare in magnificence.
As a side note, we had an interesting experience as Americans visiting the Taj Mahal. While we were relaxing on the grounds, many Indian people were asking to take pictures with us. It was like we were superstars. The more pictures we agreed to take, the more people came. I felt pretty special taking these pictures and it felt good to be sharing this moment with people from all over the world.
Visiting Gandhi Sites in Delhi by Davyanna Cox, age 17
Posted Thursday, February 16
Today marks the day that influenced me not only on a mental level but more so spiritually as we visited several Gandhi sites throughout New Delhi. Mahatma Gandhi was a man who not only inspired his country but many other countries. He was sadly taken out of this world by something that he was totally against - violence. He did whatever it took, including starving himself, to get independence and equal rights for the Indian people. He showed a strong passion for his home country.
The risks he took created change and allowed India to control its own destiny. It's incredible to see India’s economic growth today, seeing as it was under British rule not to shy of 70 years ago. Being in a country with the largest democracy in the world and with different people living in the same country who speak different languages and follow different religions is quite an experience.
The study of India’s history can be emotionally overwhelming for the simple fact that the people have so much meaning to their experiences and struggles. All of these struggles were nicely documented in our visit to the Birla House, a site dedicated to remembering Gandhi's life, and the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, a museum housing many of Gandhi's personal items.
I’m glad I am getting the chance to see this country progressing. It is predicted that by the year of 2025 India's poverty will go from roughly 70 percent to 20 percent. I find it very interesting that in a few more years India might be ahead of the United States.
Overall, the past 35 weeks studying India and now being in India has been a great learning opportunity. India is definitely a place where you cleanse your body, mind, and soul as well as focus on the most important thing in life - yourself. With these teachings I am looking forward to taking them home back to United States and applying them to my daily life. I hope to influence the way other teens in Boston live their lives and get them to appreciate the stuff they receive everyday. I also hope my fellow Boston teens learn to take their education and unique opportunities to the fullest.
Reaching our Destination by Mayerlin Valdez, age 16
Posted February 14, 2012
On Saturday, February 11, we left Boston and headed to India via Amsterdam. The first leg of the trip was a six-hour flight. Most of us watched movies, ate airplane food and slept. When we arrived in Amsterdam we were all cold as soon as we got off the plane. It had just snowed over there.
The airport in Amsterdam was big and clean. I found the people to be very nice. There was a guy who actually called my friend and me, "Madame." I don't hear that back in the United States! To pay for food we had to go to a currency exchange center to switch from dollars into euros. This was pretty cool because I now have money from Europe that I can bring home. After we ate, the group went straight to our departure gate where all the passengers to India were waiting in line for another security check.
After an hour in line, everyone made it through security. We walked onto a two-level plane which I had never experienced. We sat all the way in the back rows. Then it was a return to watching movies, eating airplane food, and sleeping before landing seven hours later in India.
When we finally landed after a full day of travel, we were all excited to be at our destination. The Indira Gandhi International Airport was beautiful. After making it through customs and getting our baggage, we met up with our travel company representative who took us to our hotel. On the drive, we saw people sleeping on the side of the road, new buildings being constructed, and many small cars and motocycles. Once we arrived at the Blue Stone Hotel, everyone headed right to bed for a good night's sleep!
Political Cartoons, by Chanel Cowan-Cummings, age 18
Posted February 13, 2012
In our last few classes we learned about political cartoons as a tool to understand both American and Indian politics. Everyone was given a political situation and instructed to be as creative as possible to make a cartoon to accompany that situation. Before we were given our assignments the class looked at many political cartoons that poked fun at things ranging from President Obama, the current GOP race, Indira Gandhi, and the rise of India’s economy.
I found these lessons to be very interesting because it gave us a chance to see what different issues are happening, especially in India. The lessons also taught us how people find ways to make fun of different political situations. My cartoon consisted of the issue that happened with the 2012 elections and how many people decided to decline from running for office. I had drawn a big podium with 2012 Presidential Elections in big bold black letters with tons of microphones. Also I had shadows of people behind the podium all speaking at once saying “We Quit, We Decline." All in all, this assignment was really an eye opener and one of my favorites.
Our Dinner with Larry Fish, by Daniel Creese, age 16
Posted February 2, 2012
Last Thursday for India class, we went out to eat at the restaurant Harvest of India in Cambridge; I was really looking forward to this dinner since I had not eaten all day! When we arrived there was a special guest: Larry Fish, the man who is sponsoring our trip to India. He gave the class a little pop quiz to see how prepared we are with our India information. I personally was caught off guard by this since I was the first one to be asked a question and did not expect it at all! Even though he was a little intimidating at first, the group instantly welcomed him in and enjoyed his company. Mr. Fish talked about himself and told us some fascinating stories from his experience in India, and I honestly have to say that he is one of the most interesting people I have ever met! Unfortunately, he only stayed for the appetizers but my classmates and I had an amazing time with him.
Another favorite part for me that day was, of course, the food! The appetizers were served I had no idea what they were, they were completely new to me. We were first served samosa which is a flaky shell shoved with potatoes and peas! At first I was a little hesitant to try it out, considering I am more of a meat person, but once I did taste it I could not stop eating them! I had a similar experience to the other appetizer too, it is called bhel puri. It is like a bowl mixed with a bunch of stuff like a rice crisp, which kind of had a soy sauce like taste in my opinion. One thing I did not like about it, is the loud crunch it makes once you bite into it! Either way, that still does not stop it from being delicious.
For main course, Dacia and I decided to order chicken curry, we did not want to go to far out of our comfort zone yet! Dacia ordered her curry to be mild, but I was willing to take a challenge and go for a hotter level of curry. Each bite had some kind for burning sensation in my tongue! Luckily, I also ordered a mango lassi, which I drank after ever bite I took. Not only it washed away the spiciness but it also left nice mango flavor in my mouth, kind of like a delicious smoothie. I only made it through half of the curry and then I was completely full, well that is what I thought. I somehow managed to start eating again once the naan came out. Naan is a thin, fluffy bread that is impossible to stop eating. Then I finally thought I was full again until I discovered the garlic naan, I couldn’t help myself but to try more! Ha ha, at this rate I will gain about a billion pounds.
Overall I enjoyed my day at Harvest of India and I honestly cannot wait to go to India because I know the food there will never disappoint me.
Politics, Elephants and Camels by Dominique Simpson, age 16
Posted January 31, 2012
This past month our group studied India’s past and present politics. We did a role play of an important series of political negotiations. The activity was called, CHOICES: Indian Independence and the Question of Pakistan (a curriculum designed at Brown University). Each of us was assigned to one of the following groups: The Cabinet Mission, The Congress Party, The Muslim League, the Sikhs of the Punjab, or the Unionist Party. Once we were placed into teams, we had to study over the history and viewpoints of that particular political party.
The group I was assigned was the Sikhs of the Punjab. They were one of the smallest groups in the debate. Their input was small because they did not have a lot of power. Their preference was to keep Punjab (their homeland) together instead of splitting it into two countries (Pakistan and India). The Sikhs did not want Punjab to be split up because that is where they had live and been for centuries. They also did not want to split because they would have to go with the Muslims who they were in turmoil with at the time.
The objective of the activity was to see whether or not the groups could all come to an agreement to keep India unified, but we could not reach an agreement. In the end, it was a lot of fun trying to prove your point and debating with classmates. As the last part we studied how the partition of India and Pakistan affected how they live today. I am very excited see the things I learned about in this project, but mainly to ride elephants and camels!
Dance Lessons, Bollywood-style by Dacia Evans, age 15
Posted December 5, 2011
Like every Explore India class, the Bollywood dance class was fun and interesting. However, this class was even more fun and interesting than usual. This week our group got to push the tables aside, move around, and learn about popular forms of Indian movement. It was especially entertaining to listen to the music and get a feel for the type of dancing Indians do. With a larger focus on using hands and feet together as part of the dance, the moves were challenging.
Bollywood dancing was a really exciting activity that I believe all teens and adults would enjoy. It’s upbeat and has a vibe where you can just let loose. It’s a great experience to learn the various dance steps and it’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to seeing in India. It was thrilling and I want to learn more.
Teen Trends in Indian Culture by Aubrey Griffin, age 16
Posted December 5, 2011
This week in India class we presented our projects on teen trends in Indian culture and how they relate to teen trends here in the United States. Specifically we focused on media, technology, music and fashion. We have been working diligently in small groups for the past few weeks on multimedia presentations, so it was really exciting to see how everyone’s presentation turned out. The group that worked on fashion drew really artistic and accurate illustrations on two everyday outfits for Indian teens, one for boys, and the other for girls. The artist did a really great job relating the different names for their clothes. Another member of the group actually made outfits and put them on Barbie dolls. It was great to see a visual representation of how the outfits would look on people.
Another group worked on the progression of technology in India. They found out that there are so many more cell phone carriers in India than there are in the U.S. They also told us that teens and adults in India use many of the social networking sites that we do, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Teens use cell phones and computers too, especially in Northern India. The students who presented Indian teen trends in music emphasized the importance of music in Bollywood films. We learned that there are so many different genres of Indian music such as rap, pop and Bollywood.
My group focused on media in India. We found that some popular trends in India are mohawks and reality television. They have a lot of reality television shows like we do. Teens love MTV, like American teens, and enjoy the same shows we do, such as Jersey Shore and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. They have game show equivalents to America’s Next Top Model, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars. We learned that to be a “star” in India you have to know how to dance, sing and act because their Bollywood enterprise, located in Mumbai (Bombay), combines music and dance with acting in their movies. These presentations gave us much needed insight into Indian culture, and make me even more eager to travel to India.
An Examination of Class in India by Daniel Creese, age 16
Posted November 28, 2011
Liza Weinstein came back to teach the India Class, and she brought with her a lot of knowledge on slums! According to Dictionary.com, slums are “a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor.” This simple sentence though is not enough to exemplify the meaning of slims. Slums are not just heavily populated, they are EXTREMELY heavily populated. For example, in Dharvi, Mumbai has about 18,000 people crammed into one arc of land… can you imagine your neighbor’s house literally inches away from you? Only the wealthy did not have to worry about this considering that they lived in more gated community. Mumbai is actually one more known places in the world having slums, can you believe that 60% of their population live in slums… yea, that’s a lot.
Let’s take a step back and start with the development of slums. It began as squatters, which is basically people who lives off unused property or build their own sheds in empty locations. One would think that they would be evicted once they were recognized for doing such sly acts, but actually they were only force to start paying taxes. Some people even built a bunch of homes, and just sold them to other people that are in need of housing. At first these houses were built with cardboard, but they were eventually replaced with bricks and cement with aluminum sheets instead. Yeah, bricks seem like the ideal choice, considering the story of the “Three Little Pigs” but instead of the Big Bad Wolf, they have to survive monsoons! Eventually this engendered into the slums we know today, with its size that continues to expand.
As I mentioned earlier in the first paragraph, my class also learned that the people who had a great affluence made their own communities and basically pushed the poor onto isolated area. This is so ironic though because in slums, such as Dharavi, the rich people want to push the poor out of the slum area in order to increase their industries in new areas, which will benefit them to make more money. Yet a movement like this would be impossible to carry though, because India is a democracy, something like this would not be passed if it comes to the vote of the people. Some rich people have always had the reputation to be snobby, but trying to perform an act like this only shows how inconsiderate and abrupt they are.
So I am pretty sure you are thinking, why on Earth so much people would move into the city? Well you see, the caste system is not as strong in the rural areas as it is in the cities. Their caste system is similar to our social classes (lower, middle, and upper) but it has five components (Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, and Harijans) and it really hard/discouraged to move up the pyramid. Most the people in slums are Harijans, the lowest class, but some people in the more upper classes live there just for location convenience for jobs, etc. In the city, it is possible to buy your way out of the caste system. In addition to that, you can make much more money in the cities than you do in the rural areas. In the city they have job opportunities such as working on the railroads, clothe factories (Johnson & Johnson Jeans), leather factories, etc. Even though their economy does seem somewhat stable, it is actually much worse than America. According to the United Nations, only 2% of United States is in extreme poverty (earning less than $1.25 a day) unlike India which has 41.6%. As some of you may know, there is an Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston, etc. going on right now complaining about our economy. India has yet to do a protest to such intense when their conditions are so much worse than ours.
Teen Trends by Temi Ashorobi, age 15
posted October 28, 2011
So last Tuesday, October 25th, India class was arranged differently than usual. In this class, we worked with our divided groups on a project introduced to us previously. This project focused mainly on the teen trends in India of all different topics. For example the topic of my group was technological teen trends in India. So far, we researched that a typical teenager living in Mumbai does plays video games, watches television, listens to a portable music device, but does not talk on the telephone as much. As you can see, this was only part of our research. The next step was to compare the information we came across with American teenagers and their trends. This part of the project became very simple because I was an American teenager myself. My group members and I became attracted to the fact that a certain percentage of American teenagers send text messages in class while school is in session. We used this statement as we
compared it to that of Indian teenagers. Coming across statistics of Indian teens compared to American teens, opened my eyes to new things I look forward to doing for when I travel to India.
We also explored the art of Henna tattoos. Created in India, henna tattoos were used to become extravagantly decorated for festivities. Many students were granted the opportunity to receive henna done on their palm(s), for it was by choice. Here we got a hands-on experience of how India would celebrate happy occasions.
Next week I look forward to continuing my project. I am highly fascinated by the wondrous things Indian teenagers do. It's always funny to sit down and think that they are halfway around the world, playing Nintendo and doing things I would consider to have been originated by Americans.
Learning About Courage by Malik Reid, age 14
posted October 18, 2011
In this India class we watched a movie about Gandhi. Ironically in the beginning of the movie, instead of showing his birth, it showed his death. Then the scene switches to young Gandhi on a train in South Africa, going to visit his client (Gandhi was lawyer). Although the British authority demanded him to move to the back of the train claiming he was black, Gandhi refused and therefore he was kicked off the train. I personally thought this helped sparked Gandhi's interest in resistance for the British, considering that the act that was done to him is completely rude and racist. It probably did, so Gandhi rebelled against the pass system that the India was forced to follow. Then Indians were forced to carry around a pass on them everywhere they go, although the British did not, so Gandhi encouraged the other Indians to rebel and burn their passes, claiming it was unfair. Gandhi was beaten brutally for this but yet this still did not stop his determination and he still continued. Significant India moments like this are what make me interested in India history, it is very inspiring. I am so glad India class introduced me to concepts like that and I cannot wait until next week until we learn more about such a courageous hero!
India Reflection by Davyanna Cox, age 17
posted October 15, 2011
During this past Tuesday we got to meet an actual Indian resident who recently moved to the United States to study for college. She was very diverse and not only was she passionate about India, she also gave us a visual picture inside while she spoke and made it easy for me and the other club members' minds to picture what India would be like when we arrived. As soon as she was done giving us her background and where she lived throughout her life - which also included different parts of Europe - we began a question and answer session. I found this very helpful because we were able to ask her about anything from sports, music, technology, and even how she compared India to America. I found this to be very helpful and made me a little more informed about how the people in India interact with each other and as well as foreigners. After, we continued to watch the last few minutes of the film Story of India, and we had questions we had to answer while the film was going on. I learned very different aspects of how India received its independence from Britain, as well as the struggle in order to get to that point of being their own country without support of another. There were two important leaders named Nehru and Gandhi who had the same goal but took different approaches according to the ideals they believed in. Once both men were deceased India went back to stage one and they still haven’t chosen whether they are capitalist or communist, but being their own type of government definitely makes them different. I look forward to another informational India class where I am able to learn more about the country and as well as the Indian people. In conclusion, I am really excited to attend the India trip because I feel as though it will give me a chance to open my eyes to a unique culture and understanding that India is very historical place where I can learn to connect with my own morals and ideals. Coming back to Boston teaching other teens the importance of new experiences and how they shape who you are as a person.
Leaving Our Comfort Zone by Chanel Cowan Cummings age 17
Posted October 8, 2011
On October 6, 2011 the class and I went out to eat at an Indian restaurant in Jamaica Plain. At this restaurant we all were able to leave our comfort zone for a little to try something new. Luck was on our side when it came to ordering the food, no one complained of their main course being something they didn't like. I personally had a type of chicken with vegetables and rice and it was really good. I was proud of myself and my class for trying something different and actually liking it. I'm glad we had the opportunity to experience Indian food before actually going to India so we know what to expect. Also I do believe that dinner made everyone that more excited to travel to India.