Video compilation of my summer at SB
SB Lingo
SB has it’s own colloquialisms every volunteer will come to learn. Here are a few gems: (to be pronounced in a strong Indian accent and make sure to rrrrroll the rrrrrrs!)
“Miss, can I go to the toilet?”
“We are arranging” - translation: we are cleaning
“Teacher, I have a doubt” - translation: teacher, we don’t understand this
“Aye-O” - translation: “oh my god!” or “shit!” or even “why did you kick the soccer ball to the opposing team?!”
“My hand is paining” - translation: my hand is hurting
“Don’t rob it!”
“Can we use sktech?” - translation: can we use markers to color?
“man, man, man!” - India’s version of Jamaica’s “mon”
“She told to go to the dorm” - every instance where “said” in appropriate, use “told”
I grabbed this pic from another volunteer because it is so darn cute. This photo was taken on India’s independence day; two preschoolers dressed up in the likeness of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
I’m always trying to get candid pictures of the kids, but it’s almost impossible because the kids love posing for pictures! The volunteers are more than happy to snap away - we start to feel like proud parents - showing the pictures off and sharing them online.
Autograph books! Every student at SB has an autograph book. It’s tradition here that every volunteer sign these books before he or she leaves. As your departure date approaches, students will hand you their book and ask you to sign it. It’s like a memento or keepsake for the children to remember all the teachers they’ve had. They really enjoy reading what teachers write and I think it helps boost students’ confidence. To avoid having piles of books to sign on my last night, I’ve started accepting books this week. I snapped these pics of a few pages I signed before returning them to my students.
Retail therapy: I’m absolutely in love with the tradition jewelry in India, however with gold price at an all-time high, I settled for these silver anklets. I never want to take them off!
I’m Going Back, Back to Bangalore
This afternoon I’m heading back to Bangalore for a weekend of relaxation and western food. I’m really excited to get some rest and shopping done, but I’m sad to be saying goodbye to my roommate Elise, who is flying back to the US. We spent four fun-filled weeks together and I can say without a doubt she made my time at SB so much more enjoyable. We danced, did pilates, watched movies, and often stayed up ‘late’ (late meaning 11pm) chatting and laughing. The good news is she lives in NYC so we already made plans to hang out when I get back.
Will write more from the city…
