Journal 9-22-2010
Today was another very busy day! Life at CCOORR is packed activities.
The day started at 7:20 with a squat over the Indian toilet and a cold bucket shower. It is actually a great way to start the day! We had a great breakfast. The food continues to be better than the food at ICSA. The theme for the day was skilled craftsmen. After breakfast we hopped in a different, but similarly equipped, tourist bus and headed to a potters house. 
He was in the process of making hundreds of little clay lamps that are filled with oil and lit at Hindu temples. He stopped his work and allowed us to try to make some pots on his wheel. It was much harder than it looks. This man is an incredibly skilled potter, he threw 5 different types of pots in about 5 minutes just to demonstrate the variety of pots that he makes. We were terrible potters. We each tried and failed to make a successful pot. 
After Matt and Katie purchased some small pots we moved on to visit an embroidery business. 
Here we attempted to learn embroidery, I was able to make about 5 good stitches in about one minute. The woman who was showing us how was able to make over 100 per minute without a single mistake. She was incredibly good, and she was also the owner of the business. Some of the saris that they make can be sold for around 2500 rupees. But each sari must take days to embroider. Still, this is a relatively large income for a family in the village.
After we all tried our hands at embroidery we moved on to paddy field where some women were planting young paddy plants using the SRI system. We got out of the bus and hopped into the paddy despite the warnings of our professors back at Olaf. It would have been extremely awkward and insulting to not get in. I stepped in first. I felt my leg get sucked into calf high mud. The water on the surface of the mud was as warm as a hot bath, but the mud underneath was slightly cooler. Walking in a paddy is without a doubt one of the strangest sensations I have ever felt. We helped the women plant until they had finished the field. 
These women work extremely fast and I felt like was getting in their way rather than helping them with the work. Planting paddy is fun, and is an experience that everyone should try if they are given the chance! I hope I dot get hookworm, a bacterial or fungal infection from this…
Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of us working in the paddy because I was the first one in and was immediately covered in mud.
On the way back to CCOORR for lunch we made a brief stop at a garden.
For Lunch we ate two types of rice, one was green and I cannot remember its name, the other was tomato rice, it was yellow in color. Both of these dishes were delicious, and to top it off we had fresh vegetables.
After lunch we went to a Government (Shadow Cast) boys school. When we arrived the boys were all outside and practically started a riot trying to force their way to the front of the crowd to ask “What is your name?” I didn’t take out my camera to take any pictures of these guys because when Katie started snapping photos they all started pushing each other to get their faces into the frame. We briefly talked with the principle and then visited a classroom where we stood in the front of the class and talked to the students. I was distracted for the entire time by 5 or 6 boys who kept tugging my sleeve and asking all sorts of questions with a limited English vocabulary. They wanted to know if I had flown to India on a plane, they wanted my autograph and many many more little questions. As a result of this distraction I completely missed what the rest of the class was talking about. But I did succeed in becoming the most popular visitor in the room. When our group left I was held back by a wave of kids clambering to shake my hand and ask “What is your name?” hhahaha this was hilarious and extremely fun! I finally made it out of the room and was followed by a loud chorus of bye Mr. Paullllll.
Immediately after the government SC school we drove a short distance to visit a co-ed private school.
When we arrived and walked across the courtyard many students were sitting outside. They all tried to hide the fact that they were laughing at us by putting their hands over their mouths and looking quickly at their friends. As we got closer and walked past them into the principles office they tired to act like they were reading. Hahaha we get this reaction a lot, I think it is because of John’s hair.
Our meeting with the principle was really informative. He spoke English very well so he was able to answer almost all of our fairly complicated questions about the private school system. The school system in India is divided up into different “standards” 1st Standard through 12th Standard. These standards are very similar to grades in the US, although Indian students graduate from 12th standard when they are about 16. The students in India also only get 1 month off for their break, while students in the US usually get about 3 months.
After our meeting with the principle he took us on an extensive tour of the school. It seemed like we went into every classroom in the three-story school building. As we entered the rooms with the principle all the students would stand up and chant “Hello Sir!” and as we left they would say “Goodbye, Thank you Sir!” 
The students also wear uniforms with the color of their “houses.” This “house” system is similar to the system in Harry Potter. Each house is made up of 1/4th of the class. The houses exist to create some friendly competition between the students based on academics, extracurricular activities and other areas.
As the school day ended and we tried to leave the students at the Private school got really rambunctious as well. Some of the older kids (12th Standard) spoke English well and asked questions about the differences between schools in the US and their school. I told them about the white boards, PowerPoint presentations and projectors. There are so many differences that it is hard to really grasp them all. Although after this trip I do have a much better understanding of the Indian education system. I also believe that both the public and private schools have been drastically improved over the past 5 years. These schools offer a pretty good education. Despite the poorly lit buildings and limited learning environment I was very impressed by the kids and their level of education. They all seemed happy and smart!
As we left the whole school was outside watching.
(these guys are just the 12th standard students we had been talking to.)
After the private school we went back to CCOORR and had coffee. It tasted great and we needed a rest, but after drinking hot coffee I was drenched in sweat.
Coffee was soon over and we headed out to play volleyball and look at some different styles of village houses. First we stopped at the community center. From there we walked, surrounded by at least 15 little kids to go see a wealthy families home. It was really nice and had a great view from the roof. Then we went to see a hut with a palm leaf roof. This hut was surprisingly nice on the inside, it had 2 rooms, a clean cement floor, a cabinet and a TV. Apparently a family of 6 people live there. A whole troop of children of all ages escorted us on these house visits.
From the thatched hut we headed down the road to the volleyball court. Where we played volleyball with some village boys until it got too dark to play. We knew it was too dark when john got hit in the face with the ball.
Being in a village is such a different experience than being in the heart of Chennai. In the village everyone is excited to see you. Everyone, especially the children seem to be incredibly happy. The people are also incredibly welcoming; I can’t even count the number of houses that we have been invited into.
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