The Circus Comes to Town

Last week, amidst the heavy monsoon rains, the students of KHS went on a field trip to the Kohinoor Circus. Not wanting to miss out on the excitement, I jumped at the chance to take a trip to the Circus. Here are some pictures of what I saw. Enjoy!

-Charishma

Welcome to the Kohinoor Circus!

The students were attentively watching the various acts.

The first act involved a series of acrobats.

The man in this picture is drinking clear water. When he spit it out, though, half of it had magically turned green and the other half, orange.

There were quite a few animals at the circus, the first of which were dogs. Here's a dog doing a model walk, while carrying a purse and umbrella.

There's no doubting that this elephant is Indian as it plays cricket against another elephant.

After playing limbo with a bar that was on fire, this woman proceeded to breathe fire. This was definitely a crowd pleaser!

Here are some birds doing a balancing act.

And, of course, a circus isn't complete without clowns.

I stop to pose for a picture after the circus ends.

Here, the boys wait outside for the buses to take them back to school.

Me with the principal's wife after the circus. Despite the rain and mud, it was a very enjoyable experience!

The Monsoon Begins!

We've been waiting in 90 degree weather (plus humidity) for 7 weeks for the rain to start, and it finally did! It's been raining for the past 4 days straight, so Charishma and I thought we'd take a little walk over to the Tapi River to see how much water there was.

~lakshmi

This is a view of the Tapi River going west towards Surat. The Causeway, the low-lying bridge about a kilometer downriver, is no longer visible. We were just there last week, and there was barely any water!

It took us a while to figure out how to get both of us and our umbrellas in the picture. Behind us, the muddy water of the Tapi!

Here is Charishma, and the Tapi River looking east.

This is a small creek over which the students built a bridge. We saw a couple fishing boats out on the water. Apparently in last year's floods, the bridge (from which this photo is taken) was completely covered!

Charishma is chasing a donkey! Donkeys are found everywhere in Kadod, along with monkeys, cows, dogs, cats, roosters, goats, and pigs.

This is the field in front of the larger boys' hostel. Beyond the donkey, you can see a kho-kho field. The amount of greenery in the area during the monsoon is breathtaking.

A couple of the hostel boys, Aakash and Pritesh, were playing "Follow The Leader" for a good 45 minutes, stomping in every puddle they could see.

The sun makes a brief appearance as it sets over the Tapi.

Birthdays, Travels, and Other Types of "Masti"

We had some photos from a while back that we wanted to add to the photoblog, but didn't get a chance to. So, we're adding them now! These pictures cover Jaydeep's (the principal's son) birthday, our trip to Pune to visit my family, and a trip to the Causeway.

~lakshmi

For Jaydeep's birthday, there were two cakes, and a small gathering of family and friends. We were invited to join in the fun, and help him finish off the cake!

Here, Jaydeep's mother feeds him a piece of cake.

Charishma on the train on our way to Pune! This was her first time on a train in India, and it was quite an adventure. We were taking an overnight train, so here is Charishma, sitting on her bunk.

We brought along snacks to munch on--here, I'm eating tomato masala flavored potato chips. Only in India!

The train ride from Surat to Pune passed through some beautiful countryside. We saw tons of small farms and villages, and lots of greenery.

Going to Pune was the first time we left Kadod. So, our first stop was a Pizza Hut to drink soda...

...and eat pizza! The Pizza Huts in India are not like the ones in the States. Here, Charishma is eating Paneer Pizza!

Me on one of our many rickshaw rides through the city of Pune.

Neil Patel, a PhD student in the CS Department at Stanford, came to visit us in Kadod for a couple days. He helped us evaluate the computer education at KHS, and in return, we showed him around Kadod! Here, we're at the Causeway, where we met a ton of our students.

Charishma and I with some our students at the Causeway. The Causeway is basically a low-lying bridge, and a section of the Tapi riverbed that is uncovered. Many people from Kadod and the neighboring villages come here to socialize.

There were tons of them!

It was the last day of a special puja, so everyone was out in their finest clothing. The colors were gorgeous!

Back in action in the classroom. This activity was to write a story, illustrate it, and read it to the class.

Hanging Out With Our Kids

We've been getting to know our students really well, and we've also been finding lots of ways to have fun with them. Here are some photos of Charishma and I as we play, laugh, and explore with our students, both inside the classroom, and out. Enjoy!

~lakshmi

We've found that a lot of our student really love stories. Here, I'm reading a Moroccan story about an ogress to Uzma, Fajila, and Aisha.

After reading the story, we played a few rounds of Hangman. Here, Uzma is giggling as we try in vain to guess her word. It ended up being "fighter," but it was spelled "fiter." Spelling definitely added a new dimension to the game.



Another activity the students enjoy is Pictionary. Here, Sangeeta and Saleha battle it out.



Having won the round with her picture of a horse, Saleha is all smiles.



Here, Ankit and Anjali go head to head in one of the last rounds of the game. Anjali overcame her fit of giggles to win the round with her creative depiction of the Taj Mahal.

A group of boys from our 11th science class pose for a picture before running off to class. From left to right: Bhavin, Raviraj, Dharmendra, Jenish, Divyesh, and Jignesh.

The hostel boys took us on a tour of the village. Here, Charishma walks with some of them down a typical Indian village road. Fun fact: You can fit 5 people onto one motorbike. Unfortunately, the one in the photo only has 2.

Cricket is one of India's most beloved sports. Here, the boys laugh as I take a swing. They were thrilled when I actually hit the ball, salwar-kameez and all!

Charishma takes a try at batting...

...and at bowling...

...and I attempt to return her ball.

We pose for a goofy picture before returning home for dinner.

A Tour of Kadod and KHS

On Sunday afternoons, the hostel boys are allowed to go out into Kadod. Last Sunday, they offered to take us on a grand tour of the village. Here are some pictures from that as well as from a tour that Lakshmi and I took of the laboratories in the school.

Our tour guides for the afternoon. Our first stop was a snack shop to stock up on Dairy Milk, my favorite chocolate. In this picture, they are standing in front of another school in Kadod, at which the principal's wife teaches.

The boys then took us on a tour of the local hospital. This is one of the operating rooms.


Walking back to the school.


Our first stop on the laboratory tour. Here's Lakshmi hard at work in the Metal Work Laboratory.


The Carpentry Lab.

The Biology major in Lakshmi becomes pretty excited upon seeing a skeleton in the Biology Lab.

Me pretending to teach in the Mechanical Engineering Lab.

The Engineering/Drawing Lab. The students taking this class also have access to a computer lab with special Engineering/Drawing software.

Eleventh standard boys hard at work in the Electrical Engineering Lab.

The students all listen attentively as the Physics teacher explains a difficult concept in the Lab.

The Chemistry Lab, with many periodic tables in the background.

The students diligently take notes before starting their lab.