Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well, today is the day we say good bye to India. After a whirlwind week of volunteering, sight-seeing, eating, and visiting schools we depart today by train from Chandigarh to Delhi. We'll then be met by a mini van and transported to the airport where we'll take an 8 hr flight to Amsterdam and then another 8 hr flight to Detroit! From Detroit we fly into Knoxville and arrive late afternoon EST. We'll probably still be on India time for a while. We have many happy memories of our trip here and look forward to sharing more stories and photos with our families and friends.

Namaste India. We'll be back soon.

Impressions of Chandigarh

Above are just some images of Chandigarh over the past 5 days. There are so many good memories already to share and I'm sure the girls will have plenty of additional photos and video footage of our trip. What a great combination of community service, volunteering, and education outside of the classroom.

Visit to the BVB School on Tuesday

Last April, Webb hosted two girls from the BVB School; Tamanna and Varnika. The two students bravely flew half way around the world by themselves to spend two weeks attending classes at Webb and living with Helen and Ceci's families. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and they helped us throw the Holi Festival of Color while in Knoxville which was a big success.

Today, the students and I spent the morning at their school experiencing a typical day for them. As I entered the school courtyard/playground the students were practicing a big production dance number that they are performing on January 26th to celebrate India Republic Day. I enjoyed watching the students perform their dance to the Jai Ho song (Bollywood song made famous in the Slumdog Millionaire movie) while the boys skated around on roller skates and the girls danced and created a pattern with the Indian flag. What a reception! I then had a brief tour of the school and met the Headmistress who is keen to continue the exchange with Webb in the future. I was given a demonstration of their technology in the math lab and then headed to the art room where the girls had assembled and were having their hands painted intricately with henna patterns... a process called Mehndi and usually given to brides just before they marry. Don't worry parents, no student on this trip is about to be married off!!

After exchanging gifts and information on both schools we departed school...the adults headed for lunch at the local golf club. The students headed to a brand new mall that opened about 6 months ago and looks just like an American mall on the inside and carries many of the same stores as the US and UK. The world continues to become homogenized although I am glad to see that Starbuck's has not yet arrived in Chandigarh..it won't be long though as you can find it in Delhi already.

Helen and Lizzie's food blog

Indian food is unlike anything in the United States. It's a culinary palette of extreme spice, sweetness, and saltiness with many other flavors we find impossible to name. Curry and other spices are present in foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner-- usually with potatoes, peas, onions, chickpeas, lentils, paneer (Indian cheese), chutney, and either fried or cooked dough. "Pickles" are added to a lot of dishes as a topping. These pickles are not what we typically think of as pickles-- they are pickled vegetables with lots of various spices that are usually really spicy!  Some of our favorite dishes include: paranthas (tortilla-like rounds with an herb or vegetable filling), mansala dosa (a South Indian dish), and butter chicken tikka (a chicken dish covered in delicious curry sauce). Also, the chai tea is delish. This trip has been amazing because we've gotten to try so many new dishes.

"I'm lovin' it" by Liz G

I must admit after eating curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner,  when my host family asked if I'd like to try eating at an Indian McDonald's, I jumped at the chance! Earlier in the evening we'd attended the Rotary meeting and I wore a beautiful traditional Indian dress. As we didn't have time to go home and change, I ended up eating in Mickey D's feeling a little over dressed! The menu was similar to that in the USA but many items had an additional "spicy" added to their name...spicy wraps, spicy chicken burger. No beef on the menu, of course, so no Big Macs to be found. It was a fun evening and I have to say the bathrooms were very clean and up to US standard!

Written by Ceci and Rachel

Though at first difficult to find, the slum school, Baal Baharr, held many children who brightened our day their smiling faces and joyful personalities. Our group brought a variety of gifts for the children such as finger puppets, candy, and school supplies. The kids were also thrilled to see their very own faces in the backs of our camera screens as many of them had previously not had this opportunity. After the school visit, our group ventured to the house of B.M. Singh who runs the Baal Baharr school. He was very insightful, wise, and generous. Later, we traveled to the Rock Garden of Chandigarh which is famous for its towering walls and sculptures that are constructed out of unwanted materials. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a camel ride while passing natives asked to "snap a picture" with the Americans. Again, we were a novelty at the Lake in Chandigarh where many people pedaled around in self-engined boats. For dinner, we joined the rotary members for a meeting at the rotary house. There, we presented money for the Baal Baharr school. In addition, each visiting American from our team received a banner from the Rotary Club in Chandigarh. We finished the day by visiting the famous rose gardens of Chandigarh. Unfortunately, it was pitch-black, so we couldn't see anything. All we could hear was a screeching monkey in a tree above our heads. Our host sister, Sophia, warned us to run away quickly because she didn't want to take any risks with her guests. Concluding our night, we visited the Peace Monument of Chandigarh which is a large statue of the Buddha. We were asked to keep silent to respect the Buddha whose soul was at peace. He believed that speech polluted the air, so we respected his ideals while visiting his memorial. Each day seems to be busier than the next, but it is just one more experience for us to be infused with the Indian culture.  

Rotary Club of Chandigarh Meeting

This evening Team TN attended the weekly RCC meeting held at Rotary House. Rob Johnson led us all in singing the national anthem. Liz Gregor then introduced the Interact students and the RCK folks before giving a short presentation on the connection/relationship we've developed over the past years with Chandigarh. Thanks to Madhukar Malhotra we were able to start an exchange program with the BVB School and hosted Tamanna and Varnika last spring. They were at the meeting in addition to Sophia Doon who is hosting two of our girls. We thanked all of the Rotarians who have helped make our stay so enjoyable and appreciate the kind hospitality that we've received every day.

Lizzie presented the donated Interact money to Vice President Kapur and then Frank Rothermel gave thanks and presented the rest of the donation in honor of the Bal Bahar. Flags were exchanged and photographs were taken.  President Saboo gave an excellent closing speech and talked about the close relationship RCC and RCK have had over the years, especially through Bill Sergeant. He thanked our Interact students for traveling half way around the globe and for all their help with polio eradication.