From left to right:  Indrani, Haley, Tanvi, Tanya (yes, they’re twins), Gurnoor and Asma (who is coming on exchange to Athenian in the fall)

A lot has happened since my last post!! These past two weeks have gone bye like a blur!! It’s hard to believe that I will be leaving South Africa in just two days. 😦

After returning from the Round Square conference, we had a day off for public holiday before going back to school on Wednesday. My host’s cousin came to visit and she had me try cow’s lips, which was quite an experience.  It tasted like beef but the texture was off…  That Thursday the International Committee hosted a Dance Day. The entire school dressed up in 80’s themed clothes and we had a flash mob after school. It was so much fun despite only half knowing the dance! The entire school went all out, especially because it was one of their few chances to not wear uniform. That night there was also a social held in what everyone calls the Barnyard, but it’s actually a nice theater down by the lake. The social was really fun. It was similar to an Athenian dance, but here there are some Afrikaans songs thrown in and there was a lot more house music.

On that weekend, my host Chikho and I went with her aunt and uncle to the Kruger National Park. We drove about an hour and a half to get there and then spent the whole day driving around spotting animals. We got to see two animals out of the ‘Big 5,’ which are Lions, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Buffalo and Elephants. We saw elephants, buffalo, and many more animals such as impala, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, jackals, and even vultures. I had a great time seeing all the wildlife and African scenery.

I then had a chill week with nice weather. I went to netball practice and our team won the match against another private school in the area.

Over the weekend, Chikho and I went to the Agatha Crocodile Ranch. We got to see over 220 adult crocodiles and our host Sam fed some of them. Then we each got to feed them a chicken leg which was fun yet slightly nerve wracking… Sam, our guide let us each hold a two month old crocodile.  He showed us how the eggs are laid and how they incubate them on the ranch, which has over 1000 crocodiles. We got to walk in a medium-sized enclosure with a whole bunch of 5-6 year old crocodiles, which worryingly hissed when we stepped into their enclosure. It was kinda frightening but we got a lot of great photos!!   The rest of our weekend was chilled.  One night we made pancakes for dessert just for fun.

Sadly, this was my last week as I leave Friday night from Johannesburg. It was so hard to say good-bye to everyone, but luckily I got most everybody to sign my South African flag. I will miss it here so much and I already plan on coming back.

On Sunday, a group of kids, Docy and I left the school in a very “sketchy” covered pickup-truck to go to a village right down the street from the school. I had only seen the villages once before as my dad and I drove from city to city, but had never actually walked into one and looked around.

Our purpose in going to the village was to preform and record procedures in order to help the people living around our community. I, with little to no medical background, was nervous but excited to be doing something new. Tanvi, a very close friend, and I were assigned the eye-checking section where we tested and recorded each of the villagers’ eyesight. (Tanvi did the instructions in Hindi while I covered one of the patient’s eyes closed.) The other stations included: height, weight and age recording; blood-pressure and sugar-level testing; a cancer and teeth-brushing talk; and, of course, Docy’s check-up station, which distributed worm pills. I had never done something so immediately helpful before. We were actually finding the problems and helping these people right in the community! It felt great.

The village was spread on about two hillsides. The main building where we were based was the pre-school and gathering center. The school room was no bigger than 10 x 12 feet.  Doing the medical recordings, I realized that there were easily 20 pre-school-aged kids at school. I was later told that the government supplied meals for the school so many kids came to eat–a good motivation for these kids to go to school and learn.

A few days later, we did another trip to the middle/high school in the village. To get there we took the school’s ambulance. (I’m glad to finally check that off my bucket list!) Once there, we taught all the kids first aid such as CPR, bandaging, splinting and we explained what to do in the case of a stroke, electric shock, head injury, etc. Most of the kids saw the importance in all of this and were very eager to learn. It was rewarding to know that we might have helped save someone’s life down the road.

Health club is definitely becoming one of my favorites now! I can’t wait until the next trip!

Today is Monday, May 14, 2012. It has been a while since I’ve written because I have been quite busy with school and beginning to organize myself to leave India. Today at morning assembly, the other exchange student from Germany and I had the opportunity to make a presentation about our schools, as well as about the experiences that we have had here and the memories we shared. I started with a speech describing Athenian and its mission statement, explaining the pillars and our campus. I then went on to describe the differences between the schools, such as uniform and calling teachers by their first names instead of ma’am or sir. Then I showed a short presentation, consisting of pictures, showing these past nine weeks in India. This made me so sad! It’s so hard to believe that only two months ago I left the SF airport, and in one weeks time I will be back home. It all went by so fast. These last few weeks of my exchange have been amazing!

For starters, I went to my first ever cricket match: Punjab vs. Deccan Chargers. I was told before that Punjab (the team we are rooting for) hasn’t won a match at the home stadium in a really long time and most likely we are going to lose. Cricket is a really long game. It consists of two “innings” where the teams take turns playing offense and defense (batting and being in the outfield), but each inning lasts about two and a half hours because you have to wait until the team gets out 20 times or there are 120 balls thrown. The beginning of the match was, honestly, a little boring. But as the second inning approached, the stadium began to get CRAZY. We sat on the terrace, which is supposed to be the “happening” place. There were people dancing and blowing whistles in your ears, screaming and yelling for both teams. There were flags waving through the air, as people stood on the seats clapping and hollering! It was a sight to see. The match got super exciting when Punjab only needed 16 runs in 4 balls to win. Everyone was yelling “we want a 6!” (The team gets 6 points if you hit a ball outside of the boundaries without it bouncing, sort of like a home run) Sure enough, they did it! Before you knew it, Punjab needed one run with one ball to win. The stadium was so tense and people were waiting in anticipation as the ball was thrown. And believe it or not, WE WON! There was celebrating and everyone was hugging each other and jumping up and down. It was so exciting, even I was screaming–and I hardly understand the game.

Lately at school, I have mostly been having a lot of fun, meeting new people and attending classes. Vivek got me involved in the music program there. They asked me if they could record my voice singing the school song, so they could play it at assemblies every Monday. On Monday May 7^th, I went into their radio room and recorded their school song.  They played the following Monday at assembly and apparently it will be played even after I leave.

All the friends here that I have met are amazing. Everyone is so nice and friendly, and they ask me lots of questions about the United States. In fact, many, including my host Ekam, are applying to schools in the U.S. next year for college. It was really weird to think about at first, but to them I have an accent. I have gotten plenty of comments about how I say words like: ‘mango, squirrel, aluminum’ and much more. Some seem to think it’s entertaining to hear me speak in an “American accent.”

One weekend with my host Vedika, I had the opportunity to wear a traditional Indian garment, a saree. Vedika had actually never worn one before so it was a new experience for both of us. Vedika’s mom lent us her saree’s to try on and she taught us how to tie one, which seems complicated at first because the saree consists of a large piece of fabric that you drape around yourself. Mine was blue and Vedika’s was black and gold.  Once we had the saree’s on we went outside and took tons of pictures just for fun.  Her mom and grandmother urged us to go out in public wearing the saree, which was quite embarrassing but loads of fun.

Within these past weeks I was also able to visit the rock garden, which is quite a sight to see in Chandigarh. It is basically a garden that has been constructed by a local artist who reused everyday items and incorporated them into his work. By doing this, he created this whole tourist attraction where people can walk through and see his work. In the central area of the rock garden, they were offering camel rides! So Vedika, a couple of her friends and I all went on a camel ride.

I will be returning to the Bay Area on May 22. Though I am missing home and I am excited to see everyone, I will dearly miss everyone in India that I have met. I have gotten so close to my host families, especially Vedika and Ekam.  I just never want to say goodbye! India has been unexpected but absolutely amazing.  I couldn’t have wished for a better experience! Come on exchange to India, and see you all soon!

My time here always seems to get better and better.

When I last posted, I was packing to leave for a five-day camping trip to Rishikesh (a small town next to the famous Ganges River in the Himalayan mountains).  I have returned and man do I have a lot to tell you all.

Day one we woke up at 4:30 am and boarded a bus to take us to our starting site. The bus ride took over 11 hours, but it seemed to fly-by as we passed the time singing, dancing and, of course, sleeping. When we arrived to our starting site, we were split into six rafting teams and three mega teams (mine: The Ultimates “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!”).  We were asked to further limit our packing to two outfits (as in two pairs of pants and two shirts) and our toiletries. Then, after a long day of traveling, we went to sleep anticipating the next morning.

When we woke, we were pushed into a bus yet again and driven two and a half hours upstream to our launching site. Launching our rafts, our expedition of eight rafts (six of us and the other two of supplies) we began our journey down the Ganges, the most religious and sacred river in India. We quickly realized just how cold the water was as we reached the first rapids. Having been river boarding before in New Zealand, the rapids didn’t scare me as much as the cold water shocked me. Throughout the day the outside temperature rose to the high 90s, so I soon found the water my best friend!

Each day we rafted downstream, stopping along the way on beaches to hang out and eat. Then at night we would build raft shelters and loos (or ‘bathrooms’ for all you back home)! We had to cook and prepare our own meals, build our shelters, and then row the rafts ourselves! Every day was a long one.

Now, my list of highlights:

1. NORTH AMERICA REPRESENT!
Tara, this absolutely crazy Canadian/New Yorker/Indian, and I one night entered this competition the guides set up for all of us.  One person had to do a plank, reaching as far as they can out from a line drawn in front of their feet, while their partner climbed onto their back and reached as far forward as they can in order to place a stick into the sand. I was busy popping peas out of pods for dinner until one of the girls convinced me to just try it. You can guess which position they wanted me for! And turned out, first try we won! Hip Hip!

2. “The Wall”
Second day rafting we reached one of the hardest rapids in the entire Ganges, a grade 4+. For safety reasons, the rapids were only open for confident swimmers and out of the 40 of us, only 8 kids were allowed (myself included). Of course, before we boarded, the instructors had to inform us that the probability of flipping was over 90%! I was prepared to get very wet. The first raft went through and before it even reached halfway, it flipped vertically. If I wasn’t nervous before, that  definitely guaranteed it. Naturally, I had to be placed in the front of the raft as we began to approach “the Wall,” as the rapids were called. I can’t fully explain what happened after that. The next thing I remember was one last final wave slashing over the bow of our raft, we balanced out, and you could hear the cheering from shore. We made it all the way through, wet but still in the raft! I was so excited!

3. Run but don’t run!
Filling up water bottles a little ways from camp, a friend and I didn’t notice a monkey walking towards us until it passed a few feet away. Having seen them from far away but never up close before, you could say I was happily curious. That is until we turned around and found ourselves facing about twenty other monkeys!! We slowly turned and, careful not to meet any of their eyes, began to walk to other way back towards our camp. Noticing us, our teacher and a few friends began to chant “hurry hurry!!! but don’t run!! Faster!!” Stealing a few glances back, the clan of monkeys full of mothers with youngsters riding on their stomachs and teenagers, we continued fast and surely towards the camp. We finally made it to the camp where our numbers scared them off.  It was definitely a scary encounter I do not want to repeat!

Over three wonderful days, we managed to raft over 100 km and through beautiful mountains where streams and waterfalls met the river. It was a wonderful trip and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on it.

Last week was a normal school week. Footie practice on Tuesday and Thursday and normal school days every day. I saw Avengers on Friday night and did homework throughout the weekend when I wasn’t hanging out with friends. It was nice to have a chill out and relax weekend that wasn’t packed with activities.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week I went to my regular classes and kept practicing footie. Wednesday was the practice day for next week’s year 10 rock climbing trip. The group of seven boys and I went to a place called the “Punchbowl,” which is near the Launceston Gorge. There were a couple of small walls we learned to climb and we also learned how to belay out our partner. I tried abseiling for the first time down a rock wall to the bank of a river. By the end of the day my hands were black from the ropes and rocks—and I was really keen for the trip with the cool guys in my group.

Thursday was packing day to prepare our gear for the actual trip. I borrowed a hiking backpack, thermals, and rain gear from my dorm parent. That morning I brought everything to school in my giant backpack. We put our gear into huge garbage bags inside of our backpacks to waterproof them. Scotch Oakburn has a giant shed that is almost exactly the same size as Athenian’s AWE barn. For the entire day we practiced using climbing gear and gathered all of the necessary supplies for the week, from toiletries to cooking gear to food.

On Friday I had a normal school day until right before lunch, when I took a taxi with my friend Jye to go back to the boarding house. We grabbed our bags that we packed last night for a weekend trip up to Jye’s house in the North-West of Tasmania. We got on the early bus that travels across Tasmania to go to Marrawah, the town where Jye lives. We arrived at around 7pm, had a snack at a quick restaurant type of place, and then went grocery shopping for that night’s dinner.

On Saturday and Sunday it poured rain and even hailed a bit. We spent most of the time inside messing around, but we also visited the beach in between rain sessions. Jye’s mum made us cheesecake and other snacks for the boarding house, which we quickly devoured upon arriving home.

I departed the San Francisco airport at 10pm on a Wednesday and arrived at 6:30am on Friday in Sydney, Australia.  From the Sydney airport I took another plane to Armidale, New South Wales, where I met my fantastic host mum.  She took me to the New England Girl’s School (NEGS), where I was reunited with Emily Stark! I was given a year 10 uniform, which consists of a plaid shirt, a navy blue tunic dress, blue bow tie, a navy hat with a NEGS logo, black stockings, and some…unique black shoes.  There is also a hair ribbon and earrings.

I spent the weekend with Emily and her friends, who are boarders but often stay the weekend.  During this time, I saw my first netball game and got a taste of some Australian culture. On my first day of school, I shadowed Emily to her classes, some of which are at NEGS brother school, The Armidale School (TAS.)  The school is very different from Athenian in the way the students call all their teachers Miss or Sir and that the buildings are very close together and all look very similar. Each grade has about 40 students and there are girls from ages 3 to 18. NEGS also has an equestrian program and many of the girls have or ride horses.   I recently found out I will be in Year 11, which is the grade Emily and her friends are in. This means that I will soon be replacing my plaid shirts and bowtie for white shirts and a plaid necktie.

The weekly schedule at NEGS is somewhat confusing.  There are two weeks, week 1 and week 2.  Each day of each week is different.  The school day goes from 8:30am to 3:20pm.  There is recess every day at around 11 (also called morning tea) where we are served biscuits and fruit.  I am enrolled in six classes:  General Maths, English, Visual Arts, Business Studies, Music, and Modern History. They’re all very interesting and very different from classes at Athenian.

Everyone whom I’ve met has been so keen to make me feel welcome.   The year 11 class is very close, which is really nice.

This weekend, I will be going to Sydney to do heaps of sightseeing and see Emily’s brother and his band play at a pub on Saturday night.

All in all, I’ve been having so much fun and have met so many wonderful people.

 

I have had a very busy couple of weekends and have had barely any time to write a blog entry. Two weekends ago was the Round Square African Regional Conference, which was an awesome experience.  I want to tell everyone now that if you have a chance to go to a conference take it.  It was so cool meeting all of these people and seeing the area around Bridge House School.

The first day was cool because it was the opening ceremony and I got to see all the different schools.  Helen Thompson and I met up and talked about our exchanges.  It was nice to hear an American accent.

The second day started early with a speech from a man that had survived the Rwandan genocide, and then later made his way through Africa until he ended up in South Africa.  He started work as a car guard and petitioned the South African government to give him financial aid, even though he was a refugee.  Due to his high grades in high school he was accepted and majored in Physics.  After listening to him, all the delegates broke up into small groups to discuss his speech.  Then these groups went to various service projects.  I went to one of the local townships and played with the kids and then gave them a meal. After this we returned to school for an open mic night.

The next day we went to a local winery and did a five kilometer walk.  After this my group went to a water treatment plant and learned how water is purified.  It was very boring. Later we heard Lewis Pugh, the man who swam one kilometer over the North Pole, speak to us about following our goals.  Later in the evening we had a night market, with food from around the world.  The final event that evening was a disco which was very cool.

On Sunday we went on a hike and then returned for a series of presentations from people involved in conservation work.  One was a women working on reducing the trapping of leopards by farmers, one was working to reduce the poaching of Rhinos, and the final person was Ella Bella, who is the youth environmental ambassador to the United Nations.  Later we had the closing ceremony and then the next day we had a brief meeting then said our good-byes.

After a few days of school it was the weekend.  On Friday night there was a big hockey match.  Unfortunately Bridge House lost 1-0 but it was well fought against a very good team.  On Saturday I saw the Avengers but on Sunday my exchange partner, some friends, and me went up to the top of Table Mountain.  The view was amazing and I had a good time exploring up there.  I don’t know what I am doing next weekend, but I will keep updating you.