A Flip of the Coin

Well I wondered how long it would take. I guess I can say that I am proud of making it this far. 11 Posts without a severe writer’s block isn’t too bad. (Remember in my first post where I said I would write once a week. HA!) To update about my life before I get into the actual post. In recent weeks I attended a Hindi Language Camp. यह ठीक था।(Props to people who translate that.) It wasn’t anything special to say the least. I also ended my three week long vacation and went back to school, something that I enjoyed more than I expected to. Other than that life has been fairly methodical.

Due to my lack of ideas, I have decided to get some opinions from the other side of the picture. In classic American style I am having someone else do my work for me. For this post, I had a school friend write about the experience of having four exchange students (2 from the U.S., 1 Swiss, and 1 Indonesian) in the classroom. It has remained un-edited by me and I will put all of the comments I have in *stars*:

“It’s a Friday, I have skipped school and I’m sitting in a café between an American and a Swiss guy. And we’re talking about how most Indian politicians are a big joke. So basically, that’s one thing off my bucket list. It’s crazy if you ask me. In case you’re wondering yes, they are exchange students and no, I never imagined that I’d be friends with people who aren’t even the same nationality as I am.

The year of 2018 brought with it a surge of new opportunities and experiences. But apart from that, it also brought with it four exchange students into my classroom. Two Americans, a Swiss guy and an Indonesian. Our school, that is, Anand Niketan has been accepting AFS students every year. They usually join us in eleventh grade and choose a stream out of science, commerce and arts. Somehow, all four of them ended up taking arts and let’s just say that had most of my classmates quite excited. India is that one country that will give you a hardcore cultural exchange, reason being that you'll meet every kind of human here varying in cast, creed, race, religion and personalities. We are that one nation that has more than 33 million Gods and we spend half of our lives trying to please at least 5 of them.

So naturally, settling into our classroom environment and education system must have been a major task for all four them. Quick fact about the Indian education system – it has more loopholes than the last sponge cake you ate. Everything is based off theory plus rote learning, there's hardly any application of what we study and there is memorizing, A LOT of it. Having exchange students in class, was or rather IS (I don't know how to put this) a very fascinating experience to say the least. Reason number one being, we got an insight into their cultures and activities back home. Reason number two, all four of them are opinionated about a lot of stuff that has been going on in the world lately and their side of the story gives us a whole new perspective. And lastly, reason number three, all four of them are affable EXCEPT for Max. He's a total meanie. *At least, I think it’s sarcasm.*

Being the Indians that we are, we tend to take advantage of everything that is provided to us. So, coming to all the advantages we have enjoyed in their presence. We've gotten extra sports periods, skipped at least six tests and not to mention, the countless periods the teachers in our school have spent trying to get to know them. I think it's beautiful how well each one of them has managed to settle and adjust to our culture and education. They've become an integral part of everything that we do as a class and I think that alone is a big achievement. Even though it has only been four months, feels like they've always been here with us.

I don't think there are any downsides to having them in class except of course the extra privileges that the four of them get for example, extended submission dates, no projects *This isn’t true. We have to do ONE project :)* and a great escape from any sort of trouble they might get into. But then again, they're in INDIA, this is exactly how we treat our guests.

So, in conclusion, it's great to have all four of them with us. Thank you, Maxwell, for wonderful narration of squirrel hunting and all of the sarcastic remarks. Thank you Saamel *Swiss* for your inquisitive nature and constant questions during class. Thank you, Madison, *American* for your optimistic attitude towards everything we do. And of course, thank you Rama *Indonesia* for your periodic music lessons during class. Welcome to the Indian family. <3

PS: You're welcome Max. “

Yes, thank you for doing my work. Well written.

I will for sure have topics to write about in the near future, including Diwali and a trip to New Delhi that is bound to be interesting. Happy 4 months!

The four exchange students mentioned.

School Friends

Saamel's 17th birthday