Indian Sports

Praneeth is the one on the far right.


If you were to ask me as a child what my favorite thing to do I would reply very quickly SPORTS!
Today Hillary and I got to experience the Indian way of playing sports. There are two main sports played here on campus.
VOLLEYBALL and CRICKET.
No other sports.
The first sport we had the privilege of joining in was volleyball. I was especially excited to play because it reminded me of the good old days playing volleyball at camp. I soon came to realize that it is a bit different.
Im not sure if they were confident in Hillary's and I's ability at first. Whenever we would hit the ball someone was right there either in front of us or behind us to make sure we did not mess up.
Our friend Raju would eagerly tell us to hit it over on hit number two. OR he would yell KATI or HILLARY! I think he was afraid that Hillary and I would mess up because Raju is very competative.
They never rotate positions and they have the same person serve the entire game.
All of the adults including the principal and head master come out and play. It is like they are all young boys wanting to join in the fun. They laugh and scream so much. Half the time Hillary and I are standing there not understanding anything they are saying either because they are talking to fast or they are speaking in Telegu.
Even though we did not understand what they are laughing about Hillary and I always seem to find the humor or catch bits of what is happing and were able to laugh along. Don't get me wrong though, there were plenty of times when they are laughing and Hillary and I just shrug our shoulders at each other simply because we just don't understand. Hillary and I decided that they are probably laughing at us.
The 10 standard boys (10th grade) are very kind to Hillary and I. They are always willing to offer a smile and are very patient with us as we slaughter their names. I know that we are saying them wrong half the time and we ask them " are we saying it right?" and they simply reply "yes, madam". By the laughs and giggles that they give as the reply we know that we are saying it wrong. I have noticed as we play more that we are understanding better and really enjoy playing with them. Even though there is a language barrier at times we are still able to enjoy each others company. It is comforting to know that wherever you go in this world, you are always able to find young boys with one thing in common... Sports.

Kati and I unexpectedly experienced our first days as teachers. One thing someone should know about Indians, is that there is no planning. For me, this is just great, because I hate to make plans! Our day went like this: we went to the Head Masters office to find out what we would be doing when the rest of the school showed up back on campus, unexpectedly he told us we could start teaching the 10 standard right that very minute, so Kati and I jumped right in, willingly of course :). We taught computers, which was very easy, since they are 16 year olds. That wasn't even close to the best part of the day though, Kati and I were invited to watch and play cricket with the boys. This was a new but exciting experience and they got a kick out of it! As Kati was up to bat, I stood there with a few of the boys. I was making conversation about sports, and asked them if they knew what a cheerleader was. They replied with a "no" and seemed somewhat confused. Being the cheerleader that I am, I could not let them get by without knowing about the wonderful character of a cheerleader, So...I gave an example! I began to yell for Kati. "Give me a K! Give me an A! Give me a T! Give me an I!" They thought this was just great and so did we. Then our new friend Partheen comes up to me as Kati and I are standing there, and he says,"Madam, will you do my name please?" We stood there just laughing as he stood there completely serious! So I started.."Give me a P! Then Kati and Partheen would yell "P", and so on...It was hilarious! It made our year for sure! It was so awkward just the three of us at that moment, but the look on that boys face was priceless. I will never forget the day we taught them how to cheer.