Our first day in Safrani
Today was the first day for us at the language teaching center. Our teacher, Vijaya, was very nice and helped us get started on our understanding of Hindi and Telugu. In Hyderabad, many people speak both Telugu and Hindi, including the students at the Safrani Memorial School. Away from the bustling streets full of rickshaws, minibuses, and motorbikes, we learned how to say hello, our names, and other bits of conversational Hindi and Telugu that we used later in the day at the school.
Safrani Memorial School is a K-10th standard (grade) school that teaches underprivileged children in the local area. Most of the students have subsidized rates for fees and books at the school, and some even get funding to pay for their uniforms. Every student at the school must wear uniforms: red plaid shirts with shorts or skirts. Since every student is dressed the same, no one knows who is rich and who is poor. The school has a preschool on the grounds, but is mostly geared for K-10 students. Also on the site is a loom, where weavers practice their ancient craft spending months to create intricate rugs. In recent years, their craft has been threatened by mechanization. The efforts at the Safrani School are to help preserve the art of hand weaving and preserve their livelihoods.
At the school, we started by playing with 1st grade children in the class. With three kickballs and two rings, the kids were ecstatic. Organized chaos ensued as students played outside while we ran with students. We also played tag, watching as thirty boisterous children chase after Mathavi only coming back with her in tow. After 30 minutes, we began to bring the children in with a mix of English and broken Hindi.
After playtime, we went into the classroom to interact and watch the children work in the classroom. Some of us just saw as children chanted multiplication tables, read about Antarctica, and learn about family structure. What amazed all of us was the boundless energy of the children, often tiring us out by the middle of the day. They were extremely eager to participate in class, raising their hand and seeking the teacher’s approval.
With school done, our group went to an ethnic shopping center to find saris, shawls, and pearls. Professor Prasad accompanied us in our initial shopping foray into the wilderness that is Indian bargaining. While Prof. Prasad got Rs. 200 for shawls, the girls in the group were greeted with an “excellent” price of Rs. 1800 for the same shawl. Nothing like the special rate for foreigners!
As the night wound down, we sat in the living room, talking about everything from the Chronicle (Jiajia) to DSG (Bethany). Even 10,000 miles away, Duke is always in our mind.