Nov 1

Hindi as the first lesson of the day was pretty interesting. They had a quiz on opposite words which is called "vilom" in Hindi. Seeing them write in such a language fascinates me since it's so different from what we usually see. Hindi is written below the line, and even though I had no idea what the characters meant, they looked pretty to me :) Tanisha my school buddy once said that if she saw a message that had only Chinese character on it, she'd think that her computer had a nasty virus. I had to agree with her. If my computer suddenly pops out a message with Hindi on it, I'd be a little scared too :D

Chemistry was quite interesting to me, even though I learnt most of the things they were teaching. They were learning about different chemical reactions, such as how carbon dioxide turns lime water milky. I was amazed at how all the students knew not only the English names for the different solutions, but the scientific formulas as well. Tanisha says they have to learn them by heart since the beginning of term, and "it was a really tough time". Since our teachers told us specifically that we aren't required to learn them, I feel pretty sorry for them :P

After a while, we went out for a fieldtrip to Manibhavan, which was where Gandhi stayed when he was in Mumbai. It was quite cool to see the very few belongings that he had, and the different pictures depicting different things he did to fight for equality and the independence of India from the British rule. There were a few clay models that showed the events, such as the Salt March and the Fast for Communal Harmony. After the short visit, I learnt a lot more about this hero and what he did during simple life. All in all, I think that Gandhi was all in all, a true hero and a great man.

We went back to school after the trip, and the 14 of us amused ourselves in the junior school playground for a while before lunch. I was getting pretty tired of the repetitive school lunches, so today I opted for a cheese dosa instead. It's a traditional south Indian snack, which looks and tastes very similar to a pancake.

After lunch, we had a speech and drama workshop, which I can certainly say is the most interesting lesson I've had in India so far. The teacher Ms Bedi had us do different emotions, from the smallest scale (moving only your face) to the largest scale (practically jumping with exaggerated facial expression and movement). We then separated into 5 groups, where we had to come up with a commercial for an imaginary product. It was really fun since we got to use our imagination and act crazy :D I definitely think that there it should be included in our curriculum at school, since it really helps us relax and get away from all the academic stress...

I can't wait for tomorrow since it's going to be Dress As You Like day :) I guess all 14 of us are lucky to have this event twice this school year :D (though that's nothing compared to the JB Petit girls since they have it every Friday...)

June Ho 3U (12)