I love the salmon pink colour of the sunset in India. It is good to spend a time with family drinking chai (milk tea) every morning and evening. In India, time flows slowly than other countries like Japan. I came from Japan. I married an Indian and live in India. I live together with my husband's family. My husband and I run 2 hotels in Bodhgaya. We also run free school for poor children. I would like to introduce my amazing life in India.
This day
was a very important one for the students: one of two festivals they hold each
year! Prior to this day, we learned that students would be performing modern
dances, Christmas songs, and a Christmas play about Jesus’s birth. We didn’t
know exactly what to expect but knew the students had been working very hard.
As we
waited for the students’ arrival in the backstage dressing room, we saw a
couple students trickle in, looking very excited to get dressed up and dolled
up. The room then quickly filled as more and more children ran in, makeup and
dresses in hand, showing the bows and glitters off to my sister and me.
We set off
with our task for the morning, to help the young girls with their hair and
makeup. Thankfully, we were dancers in our younger days and somewhat remembered
how to do stage makeup. It was endearing to see the girls share their makeup
boxes and look at one another with admiration as we applied some pink
eyeshadow, red blush, and pink lipstick. They were very excited to get on stage
– no hint of nerves at all!
After
helping the girls with their makeup, my sister and I were pleasantly surprised
to be offered to get a little dolled up ourselves: two teachers of the school
brought us sarees to wear and helped us dress in them. As for makeup, the
female students did us the favor in return and applied eyeshadow, eyeliner, and
lipstick for us!
Without
stopping there, Yuki-san and Surya Bharti School welcomed us further. At the
beginning of the performance, we were invited on stage to each light a candle, receive
necklaces of vibrant marigolds still damp with freshness, and be decorated with
bindis. Now we were set to watch the performance as a true part of the school.
The show
began with female students from various classes performing dances to modern Indian
pop songs. We were impressed with their courage on stage and their dancing
skills; their hard work was very apparent. As the show progressed to the
Christmas portion, it was charming to see young boys and girls sing Jingle
Bells and Feliz Navidad with enthusiasm. The performance of the birth of Jesus
Christ was acted out by older students with more advanced English skills and
let me say, they did wonderfully. Mr. Michael, the longer-term volunteer
teacher at Surya Bharti, did a great job preparing the students and having fun
with them along the way.
What a
treat it was to see the students’ continuous enthusiasm channeled through their
performances, and to feel so much a part of the experience through the warmth
of Yuki-san and the Surya Bharti staff. The students constantly impress me with
their hard work, big dreams, and humility. With the support of people who were
fortunate to be born into more favorable life circumstances, these students can
achieve bright futures. They deserve every opportunity that comes their way, of
which we hope there are many.
Today, we
visited Surya Bharti for the second time. We were very excited to once again
see the students’ bright faces, sometimes shy smiles, and enthusiasm for
learning, and to teach them English in a more hands-on manner than the first
day.
We believe that across cultures, there is at
least one common passion: food. On that note, we brought printouts of American
menus to share with the younger students and teach them common food /
restaurant-related phrases, like “What would you like to eat?” and “My personal
favorite is …”
The
activity was a hit, especially as we went around asking each student what he /
she wanted to order. It was fascinating to see differences in tastes across
cultures, as the Surya students frequently ordered items such as buckwheat
pancakes and multigrain bread, while in the U.S., youth would typically order
maple-drenched French toast or sweet pancakes stacked high. The students
comprehended the lesson well and were giggling throughout, appearing to enjoy
using their imagination while learning English. Toward the end of one class,
all the students began ordering dessert items such as chocolate cake and
cookies! It was endearing, and also struck me as perhaps driven by the rarity
of such treats in their everyday lives.
For the
older students, we taught Martin Luther King’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech.
We again wanted to instill something beyond just a rote English lesson; we
wanted to incite students to reflect on the ideas of equality, freedom, and
justice that King touts so eloquently. We taught them the history behind the
speech and read the first portion line by line, explaining the metaphors and
deeper meanings behind some of the sentences. While doing so we saw the students’
faces become serious with concentration and, I hope, contemplation.
One of my
greatest wishes for these students who filled me with continuous inspiration,
is that they will live in “an oasis of freedom and justice” (King) in which
they can strive for and achieve their many dreams. Surya Bharti School is
setting them on the path to do so.
