Teacher's day celebration at Bodhgaya Nihongo(Japanese) Class

Teacher's day celebration at Bodhgaya Nihongo(Japanese) Class

5th September, I went to attend "Teacher's day celebration" to Surya Bharti School (run by NGO Children Aid) in the morning.

And, in the afternoon, I was supposed to attend "Teacher's day celebration" at an Institution in Gaya, but unfortunately, my younger daughter had high fever, so I had to postpone. 

And, in the evening, we had "Teacher's day celebration" at BNC(Bodhgaya Nihongo Class).

5 teachers and 5 cakes!

Thanks to all the students!

Forcing to eat pieces of cakes each other as usual!

Of course, we painted cream to cheeks!

All cakes disappeared soon! 

taking photo with Girl students.

We got gifts from the students.

Thank you so much!

And we had dance party with TITP students!

Everyone got exhausted after dancing! 

Otsukaresama deshita~!

It was so fun!

Independence day of India and Rakshabandhan

15th August is the Independence day of India.

And, this year, Rakshabandhan festival also held on the same day.

It was very busy day as I thought!

In the morning, we had a celebration ceremony of Independence day of India.

Today, it was first time for me to hoist the national flag, 

due to absence of my husband who went on business trip.

The flag hold flower petals inside and was tied tightly,

it was too tight to untie the string only once, 

I tried to pull several times to open the flag.

Wearing shoes is prohibited around the flag stand. 

After hoisting the national flag, everyone started to sing the national song.

It is rainy season, but it was sunny day with strong sun light, so it was so hot today!

We all did it very well!

Some students sang songs, and gave speeches.

Every time, in hoisting flag photo, principal sir's hand overlapped on my husband's face,

this time, flower petals overlapped on my face...!

After the celebration, we had Jalebi (national sweets of India).

After the celebration at Surya Bharti School, next was our hotel's celebration.

With staffs and special guests, Mr.&Mrs. Rajesh.

And there, a priest was waiting for us.

He was the priest who conducted our marriage ceremony.

He came to celebrate Rakshabandhan for us.

"Rakshabandhan" means a custom that Sisters pray for their brothers' health and give charms.

Not only real siblings but also cousins and friends can do this ceremony.

Putting charm with right wrist for boys and left wrist for girls.

He gave a charm for my husband.

Elder daughter has lots of brothers in Japanese class.

Second daughter also celebrated like her sister.

Rahul who is an ex-student came to celebrate Rakshabandhan.

Today(15th) was the last day of Sawan season, 

he kept his beard unshaved during the season.

He is 20 something, but look at him, like a boss!

He opened a computer class in his village, and he is also planning to open a branch in Gaya.

And, my "Brother" is Mr.Kamal.

He is a local head of a famous newspaper.

He managed his time to come to celebrate.

We have been continuing this ceremony for 9 years.

And ... !

My children and I went to celebrate Rakshabandhan with their 9 cousins.

And we had more...!

Premjeet who is an ex-student and in a cricket academy came to celebrate at night.

It was so busy and full of memory day!

Day 1: Arrival in Bodh Gaya Volunteering at Surya Bharti: An Enlightening Experience

Volunteering at Surya Bharti: An Enlightening Experience

Day 1: Arrival in Bodh Gaya

We had arrived. Over 24 hours after taking off from U.S. soil, we had finally made it to Bodh Gaya, the holy land where Lord Buddha was enlightened. We learned from several travelers that this was a special pilgrimage time, when there were Buddhist celebrations and ceremonies in Bodh Gaya that only occur once a year. But for us, this trip was not about making a pilgrimage to the Mahabodhi Temple or witnessing the Dalai Lama (though the significance of these events was not lost on us). To us, Bodh Gaya was where we were to finally meet the students of Surya Bharti school.

Yuki-san and several of the Surya Bharti alumni greeted us at baggage claim with cheerful smiles and kind eyes. It was a sunny, warm day despite the winter season. Our greeters’ faces were framed by this sunshine, set against a backdrop of desert-like dirt and a subtle, yet distinct smell of smoke that pervaded in every direction. It was surreal to meet the flesh-and-blood versions of the faces we had encountered several times over Skype: Yuki-san, Niraj K., Vikram, Sushant, Amane-chan. I’ll admit that it was initially difficult to put names to the right faces – blurry Skype sessions do not suffice for a general lack of knowledge of Indian names. Luckily, names and Hindi words became ever-so-slightly easier to remember over the duration of the trip.

A short car ride later, we arrived at Mahamaya Palace, Yuki-san’s family hotel and our residence for the next five days. We met Niraj Singh, one of the first Surya Bharti alumni we met on Skype over two years ago. After more cheerful introductions, we ate a hearty Indian lunch and quickly fell into a jetlag-induced sleep in our comfortable new room.