Days 2 & 3: Student home visits Volunteering at Surya Bharti: An Enlightening Experience

Days 2 & 3: Student home visits

Aside from teaching, our first two days in Bodh Gaya were spent visiting student and alumni homes. These visits are gems of memories that will certainly stay with us the rest of our lives.

The van chugged along the narrow dirt road as we made our way to Karan’s village, the first of the five we visited. As the bustle and concrete of the city fell away to the countryside, with its open fields of rice, grain, and grazing cows, the change in air quality was palpable. The village air was dewy and fresh. We inhaled deeply.

Karan greeted us when we arrived and led us down the dirt road toward his home. As we made our way, gingerly skirting the fresh piles of cow dung, we could feel the gaze of the curious villagers on us. We must have looked completely foreign, taking in the scenes of goats, chickens, stray pups, women in sarees, and overall, the lifestyle of subsistence farming surrounding us. Casually, Karan explained to us that one of the homes had been invaded by locusts.

One thing was clear, especially as Karan proudly explained to us how his extended and nuclear family all live near one another in a cluster of homes: family and community are indispensable elements of the villagers’ lives. This is in striking contrast to the U.S., where we often forego proximity to family in pursuit of personal and individualized goals. Though neither way of life is necessarily the be-all end-all, seeing these tight family units inspired me to be more intentional in my life choices that will impact proximity to loved ones.

We entered Karan’s home. Four generations of his family were present, from his grandmother to his niece. Karan led us to his study room, which doubles as his family’s prayer room. In the corner stood a yellow lamp. We learned over the course of the house visits that this yellow lamp is government-issued and solar-powered. It helps many of the students study, as electricity in their homes is unreliable at best, and non-existent at worst. I couldn’t help but think about a Skype lesson I had with Karan and Ravi (both my students over the past six months) on the topic of “dream homes.” They had described their dream homes as having windows, curtains, and lush gardens. Polished floors, beautiful bathrooms, and bright lighting. I could now better understand the mesmerized ring to their voices when they described these dreams, elements that are so far from their reality.

It would be a shame not to also mention the delicious and vibrant foods we had the privilege of eating at each of the student’s homes. There was the sweet and milky masala chai, which we drank so often that we began to crave it at the end of each meal. There were the soan papdi and the rasmalai. The toasted rice. The fresh papaya. The list goes on.

Suffice it to say that, by the end of these visits, both our hearts and our stomachs were full.

Day 2: First day of teaching Volunteering at Surya Bharti: An Enlightening Experience

Day 2: First day of teaching

The following morning, we loaded into the van and made our way to Surya Bharti school. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but knew that the few YouTube videos we had seen on the NGO Children Aid channel couldn’t fully prepare us for what was to come.

As the van approached the schoolyard, we could see five even rows of blurry maroon-colored dots next to the school building. As we came closer, these dots crystallized into figures of the schoolkids wearing their maroon-colored sweater uniforms. They were chanting their morning greeting, right hands raised as they repeated the captains’ calls. 

We hopped out of the van as the students finished their routine and walked up to face them. Slightly nervous, we introduced ourselves in front of the group in the Hindi words we had learned just that morning: “Mera naam Erica…” “…Mera naam Megumi,” we awkwardly fumbled as the kids stared back at us with expectant expressions. We quickly had to revert back to English, and can only hope that our sincere gratitude for their welcoming us to their school was properly conveyed.

After the kids dispersed to their various classrooms, we visited the smaller groups and re-introduced ourselves. We were then ushered into the newly-built library, where we commenced teaching for the day. We taught four grades, with students’ ages ranging from 13 to 16 years old. One thing that struck me immediately was the rapt attention with which we were greeted. I couldn’t help but contrast this respectfulness with American students, who tend to disengage in the classroom, or, in the worst case scenarios, torment substitute teachers with endless chatter and paper airplanes.

It was fun to get a glimpse of what the students were learning in class, whether they were reading stories about pet bears, or poems by Silvia Plath. We tried to plug into their curriculum in order to strike a balance for them between the familiar and the new and to establish a sense of continuity with their current lessons and exam schedules.

The most rewarding moments that first day were when the students asked questions, thirsty for knowledge of English vocabulary and pop culture. And, of course, when we sidetracked a little to listen to Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” with the kids singing unabashedly along. In those moments, we couldn’t help but smile cheek-to-cheek – especially when one of the alumni showed off his Michael Jackson moon walk.

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.