YES Students Invited to 10th Annual Neighborhood Expo

When “Expo” organizers learned that three students from India were living in their midst, they invited the students to participate in the 10th Annual Neighborhood Expo in North Adams, Massachusetts. The 2007-2008 YES scholarship students, Himaannii Gangakhedkarr, Siddhant Shah and Zeba Amir, eagerly accepted the invitation. The theme of the Expo was “spreading the roots of our community”. The all-day expo included three concurrent “story sessions” in the morning, a lunch featuring ethnic foods, local entertainment and displays. One of the story sessions was entitled “A Glimpse of South Asia”. For this reason, a table sharing information about India was a suitable addition to the many display tables set up in the Parish Hall gymnasium of St. Anthony’s Church.

The students arrived in their traditional Indian attire and immediately started unpacking and displaying their wares. They hung a flag of India and other beautiful decorations on the wall behind their table, and spread their books, cd’s, photos, more traditional clothing and other artifacts on the table. They quickly ran out of space and were able to add another table to display the rest of their collection. People were immediately drawn to their table, their brightly colored clothes and their smiling faces. The community members enjoyed looking at all the things the students brought to share, but mostly enjoyed talking with the students. The table displays were wonderful conversation starters and a perfect opportunity for the students to share information about their country and culture.

The students were also invited to participate in the morning story sessions. The organizers felt they would have valuable input to add to the “A Glimpse of South Asia” discussion. In this session, participants were able to observe and partake in a traditional Hindi welcome ritual (aarti). At the end, the Hindi presenters went around the room placing a mark made of red turmeric powder (tilak) on everyone’s forehead as a sign of welcome. The welcome ritual was followed by an open discussion focusing on life in the Berkshires with an increasingly diverse population.

Some of the older participants shared experiences of segregation and bigotry in the 40’s and 50’s and compared the differences in attitudes between the north and the south. The families who settled in the area from other parts of the world all agreed that they’ve received warm welcomes and feel well-integrated in their communities. They are glad that they did not settle in bigger cities where the immigrant populations tend to create their own communities instead of blending with existing communities.

The exchange students agreed that the people in their new communities have made them feel very welcome and they are very happy to be in this part of the U.S. Himaannii said, “The teachers in school are always telling us to come to them if we ever have any problems, but we don’t have any problems. Everybody is very friendly.”

When the story sessions were finished, the students returned to the large hall to talk to visitors. There were many more people in attendance by this time and the students were very busy interacting with local community members. There were approximately 250-300 people at the Expo throughout the day. Music and videos from South Asia were projected on a large screen at the front of the hall as people checked out the displays and had lunch.

Himaannii and an exchange student from Afghanistan offered free henna designs to interested guests. A line of several teens quickly gathered wanting designs on their palms and the backs of their hands. Zeba joined the girls to help keep up with the crowd of boys and girls wanting henna designs. The local kids were thrilled with the intricate and beautiful decorations that adorned their hands.

Reporters from three local newspapers interviewed and photographed some of the students. People were very pleased that the students gave up a full day of their weekend to participate in this community event. None of the students attended the high school in North Adams but were happy to have a chance to interact with community members near their hometowns. The students promoted the exchange programs, talked about the scholarship that enabled them to come here and expressed their gratitude for the unique opportunity to live and study in the U.S. for one year.

Helping to serve the complimentary lunch was Massachusetts Senator Benjamin Downing. Performances were given by a local magician, the young and talented Brayton Step Dancers and the Williams College Bhangra Dance Troupe. The exchange students observed while the Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker award and the SAY it Proud youth awards were presented by North Adams Mayor John Barrett. In one day, at one event, these three students were able to meet all of the goals and objectives of the YES scholarship program.

Ice - Skating.. Rock the Ice!!

Hi friends,

The other day all the exchange students went to Manchester for Ice-skating. We all met at the school circle so that we can go thether from there. Mrs. Kara, Mrs. Anya and Mrs. Mrs. Winslow drove all the exchange students there. I was so excited and also nervous. Excited because it was my first time to Ice-skating and its always so fun when all the exchange students are together. I was also nervous of being embarrased and falling on the ice..I hope u agree with me that no boy would like to keep falling on ice again and again in front of his friends(especially when majority of them are girls..ha ha ah)

So we reached there and rented skates and bought tickets, overall costing $10.00... In no time we all were in the skating ring. I was holding the railings when I first came inside and it was kinda feeling left out because others all were mainly from cold countriesand had done ice-skating.. But you won't believeyour eyes if you wud there urself.. After 10 or 15 min.. i was flying on ice. I left everyone open mouthed. Within next half an hour it couldn't be discerned that i was the fastest among all other exchange students, apart from Assel (Khazakhystan exchange student). It was so fun and felt so easy. This was no magic. The fact is that i was a good roller blade skater in India and Ice-skating seemed the same too.. I was running on the ice ..without any efforts i was just gliding my way between people..

By the end of our time me and Assel were running around on ice with our skates. Nothing to boast, but I felt so proud of myself. No one was ready to beleieve that it was my first time ice-skating.. I tried to tell them that in India the temperature is so hot from where i come, that Ice-skting is not possible to maintain. If it wouldn't have been for Himaannii (another indian exchange student) no one would have believed me.

After our skating we congratulated each other for our improvement and new learning skills. We than went to a book store, which was called "Northshire book Store" it was one of the biggest book store in Vermont and was soo cool.. From there we went for Pizza dinner, which also costed $10.00 per person. From there i went to home with Mrs. Kara and others while the rest of them went for movies. Even i wanted to go with them but I had already watched enough movies that month and had to maintain my budget.. Overall it was really a good experince and we all had fun.

Enjoy!! have fun...

Dance Party !!

Hey friends,

Today we had a Dance Party at High School in celebration of St. Patricks Day. It was not so much fun as the Homecoming Dance Party cause not many people were present there. Anyways we still had fun as ususal when we are together. We went as a group as usual too, because not all of us have a date to take with us. At first we all were feeling shy or bored..not sure..but no one was ready to go dance..one of the primary reason was that there were less people this time and more open space , which means you can be easily seen.ha ha ha..

Anyways some how we passed the time and we did dance finally during the end. But its hardly any fun because you have to move aside during the slow songs when the couples dance together.. The main part was after the dance. The dance was from 7:00 to 10:00 and than we went to Friendly's (Its very famous here.like McDonalds) for eating ice-cream.. i must tell u it was -10 degree outside and we were having snowfall outside.. In India ur mom won't let u have ice cream if its winter an 15 degree ..ha ha.. we talked and did gossip..i got home by mid-night and went to bed so...

Enjoy!! Have fun..

Masti Ki Pathshala..

My school is no less than "Masti Ki Pathshala"....where students move around with funky outfits...No dress code or uniform ofcourse....students having snacks and drinks during some classes....while chewing a gum and listening to "i Pods" are the most cool things... The more your pants are ripped off the more cool you are... The school cafeteria sells a greasy oily chees for Pizza...if you squeeeeez a slice of pizza you might get a bucket of oil... wat else?? the soda machine eats all your cash...you might need to kick it sometimes to get your drink..umm.... you express all your hate towards the teacher on her face....just outside the school starts a new world...kids moving around with skate boards and bicycles...some smoking or hanging around with their partners in corner... here and there groups of people playing some sort of games.... in between you might get to see some club (cross country running, soccer or field hockey) students practicing.....Friends are like best thing you might have if you are lucky enough to get some...You can hang out with them for after school activities or in Lunch breaks....

In the News- YES Website

YES and FLEX program students spruced up a youth home during United Way’s Day of Caring in Bennington, Vermont. The sixteen students in local coordinator Kara Lozier’s cluster have a reputation as young leaders who want to make a difference. Just recently, the Better Bennington Corporation recruited them to help with the “Bennington Pumpkin Challenge,” an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most pumpkins carved and lit in one place!

आप सब कैसे हो?

नमस्ते,

आप सब लोगो को मेरा सदर प्रणाम। मैं यहाँ ठीक हूँ और मेरी पढाई भी अच्छी चल रही है। मुझे आशा है कि आप सब भी ठीक होगे। मेरे साल का द्विथ्य भाग भी पुरा हो गया है और साथ ही उसका परिणाम भी हमे मिल गया है। मुझे सभी परीक्षा मैं अच्छे अंक मिले है। मुझे आप आप सब कि बहुत याद आती है। मैं यह भी जानता हूँ कि आप सब भी मुझे बहुत याद करते हो।

मुझे आशा है कि हम सब जल्दी ही मिल्लेगे। अपना ध्यान रखना और आप सबको पढाई के लिए मेरी शुभकामनाये। मुझे लगता है कि आपको मेरा ब्लोग पढ़के अति आनंद हुआ होगा । क्र्य्प्या अपने विचार कमेंट सेक्शन मैं दिखाइए।

धन्यवाद.

आपका मित्र,
सिद्धांत

Click on the "Certificate" and "Progress Card" to view enlarge version.

“Three times really is a charm”: My experience with three loving host families.

Host families play one of the major roles in an exchange student’s success abroad. Some of my best, most unforgettable moments have been with my host families. The selfless love, affection, and attention that they have provided to me has never made me feel the absence of my parents. I stayed with three different families, and all of them were eager to accept me as a part of their family. They are always looking forward to experience different activities with me, and to make my exchange year as successful as possible.

When I first reached Vermont I was warmly welcomed by the Loziers, my coordinator’s family. It was good to have Kara Lozier as my host mom as well as coordinator. I had to stay there for about a week before I shifted to my welcome family, since they were on vacation at the time. It was so much fun to have two brothers, Eric and Weston. I spent most of my time with Weston who was eager to show me so many things. We both took a walk in a shallow, but cold river that flowed just behind the house. At first the water was very cold but soon our body adjusted to it. It was very exciting to look at the tiny little fish moving around our legs.
In the evening we played baseball and soccer and sometimes took a go cart ride. Since I always wanted to have a pet dog, I enjoyed taking the dog for a walk near the river bank. On the last day we had a camp fire outside the house. My host dad taught me some basics of billiards, ping pong, and we ate a variety of ethnic foods. By the end of that week I felt like I had enjoyed my whole year as an exchange student. It was hard to say goodbye to them because even in this short period of time I became quite attached to them.

One day before my school started and almost a week after my arrival I moved to my welcome family’s home, the Pearsons. They welcomed me in their family with a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm. In this family I got an elder brother, a sister, and a loving grand mother along with two great parents. It was very encouraging to have an elder brother, Ethan who attended the same high school as me. My sister Claire, left for her college studies soon after I arrived here.
I had a great time with that family learning new things and gaining knowledge from my dad, a computer scientist, about all fields of studies. Ethan and I used to do lots of fun activities, some of which might be unusual for others. For instance, we climbed Maple trees in our front yard and took pictures of each other from top. We often tried to challenge each other in some new tricks that we learned. He could play guitar very well and was keen to teach me too. He often invited some of the high school students over and we had a great time “hanging out”.
Mr. Pearson taught me a new game called GO. It is a very ancient Japanese board game. We used to go to the GO Club every Tuesday where we met other people who played the game.
In my first semester I had ‘Art II’ and since my mom was an artist she was very helpful to teach me different art styles. She was always ready to make my favorite chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. The four months passed by in such a way that I had almost forgotten that this was my welcome family. It was as if I had become a part of their family and daily life as much as they had become in mine. The time came that I had to say goodbye and to transition to my host family that would keep me for the year.

Exactly four months after the day of my arrival, I shifted to my new family, the Moores. At first I was a bit upset to leave my wonderful welcome family, but one meeting with the Moores made me forget all my worries. They were so excited about having me that even before I moved to their house we had dinner together and also went for Christmas shopping in some of the big malls.
Ever since I arrived here, there is some new event to participate in. My 4 year old brother, Liam, was so enthusiastic about having me over that he couldn’t stop playing with me and showing me his different drawings.
I had a wonderful time during Christmas with them and enjoyed taking part in decorating the Christmas tree. On the Christmas morning I was overwhelmed by the number of presents I had received. Apart from countless presents that I received from my friends and family, I also got presents from my welcome family. My new family did everything possible to make my Christmas a memory of lifetime. Before the Christmas exhilaration could settle, New Year’s Eve brought more fun and joy. We went to Albany to see a Disney ice show and also visited a Science Museum. We also went for sledging, swimming and horse riding. In less than two months now I have done so many activities with the Moores and we have planned more for the upcoming months. Even though I am a vegetarian I have never come across any problems regarding food. The care, affection, and selfless love which they share with us are unparallel.

I am glad to be here as an exchange student and to learn about different cultures. I thank all of the families who not only hosted me, but also accepted me as a member of their family. I got to learn so many different things staying with different families and I feel lucky to get the love and affection from all of the families. Even now I go to GO Club with Mr. Pearson and occasionally both the families make plan to do some activities together with me.
The bond that we share with our host families does not end when we go back to our home country, but it’s a relationship that we have made together and which would last forever.