July 14, 2017
Namaste!
The group has arrived safe and sound in Delhi! We briefly rested, had breakfast and kept the adventure going by hopping on another flight to Amritsar. From here we drove to home base, stopping for some great Indian food along the way. Everyone is kind and positive despite the looming jet lag. We are all ready to start our service and learning about the power of photojournalism.
Stay tuned to more blog posts from the students!
Warmly,
Laura
International Director
Today was our first day doing service, as we split into 4 groups, 3 at a daycare and 1 at a sports camp, we got to fully experience a typical Indian morning with toddlers for the first time! At the sports camp, we played a variety of games such as cricket and soccer but we also held an arts and crafts activity for the younger children.
July 16, 2017
Our day started after breakfast with a “camera basics” class. We learned some of the essential photography skills and how to implement them into our own picture taking. After receiving our photo assignments for the day, we headed up the mountain to St. John’s Church.
July 18, 2017
After breakfast we headed to our Anganwadi assignments. Then, after working with the children and eating lunch we left for a Hindi Temple to hear about their beliefs and be blessed. We heard about the basics of Hinduism from one of our mentors, Priyanka, and were allowed to explore the temple and nearby waterfall for a few minutes while we photographed them.
Wednesday, July 19th, was full of photography, service, and some surprises. We loaded up on the french toast that were drenched in “American Style” syrup and started our day with service. The Anganwadi groups taught lessons from the alphabet to basic math to animals and everything in between. Meanwhile, the Sports Camp leaders played got muddy with soccer and cricket. Afterwards, lunch was served and it had a little more variety. There were spring rolls and fried potatoes, probably the closest thing we will get to french fries until we reach home but we will take what we can get. After, we got to learn the basics of setting up an interview and then conducting it. We were able to test out the mic and composition of interviewing on ourselves. We also learned about the three portrait lighting rules: Rembrandt, Butterfly, and Side. There unfortunately was not a lot light to work with because of the moody Monsoon season but there will be other chances to use our new knowledge. Next was dinner which was white rice and beans but for the sick people there was the comforting food of buttered noodles. We then split into our mentor groups and at the end, the staff surprised us with ice cream floats! Everyone ate the cold dessert quickly and quietly and we were satisfied until the last scope. Wednesday was a day full of fun and we are excited for more!
July 21, 2017
Today was a relaxed day for many of us and it was finally LAUNDRY DAY! In the morning we went to the Anganwadi’s (daycare) and some went off to sports camp. Towards the time of the day everyone starts walking back it started pouring and one by one everyone came back soaked and saying they had just been in a waterfall. After everyone drying off and lunch some watched two amazing TED talks and the others went off to interview people who are a part of Gaddi culture for our capstone projects. The group that went to do interviews was able to see authentic village homes and learn about Indian weddings and their way of life. At dinner everyone was supper happy as we had pasta, enchiladas, and ice cream!
Emily
