Day 5: Cultural Exchange

Welcome back to the SWIndia blog! We’ve been having a great time so far in Walchandnagar, and we’re glad you’re here to share it with us! We woke up bright and early for an early morning yoga session in the garden of our guest house. It was so calming to sit outside in nature and reset! After the meditation, we ate breakfast and headed to school for our first day working with the 8th graders at BCA. After a brief introduction, Jade gave a presentation on the engineering design process, and we broke off into the activity rooms. Today, Kathleen and I ran a helicopter activity, Kaamaakshi, Sasha H., and Alice ran the roller coaster activity, Anagha and Makenzie ran a tower making activity, and Jade, Sasha L. and Sam ran a trebuchet activity. It was so fun watching the students enjoy testing their designs outside! 

Kathleen testing helicopters with the students!

During the lunch break, we sat with the students, who shared their food with us and continued teaching Marathi. After lunch we had one last activity session and then returned to our guest house to eat our lunch and relax. In the early afternoon, we returned to the school for cultural exchange with BCA staff. The staff gave a presentation on the temples and traditional dances of India, and Kathleen gave a presentation on American pop culture. Then, we returned to the guest house for an amazing saree draping event. Each of us got a beautiful saree and jewelry to wear, and some of us got our hair and makeup done as well! After a long photoshoot, we crossed the road to visit the bungalow of the CEO of Walchandnagar Industries, which is an important institution in Walchandnagar. The home was beautifully decorated with art and religious items, and we were treated to pani puri by the house staff. 

Posing in our sarees with the BCA staff!

After the events of the day, we returned to the guest house to eat dinner and relax. We finished our night by preparing for the next couple of days. Tomorrow is the last day of camp, so it will be an exciting but bittersweet day! Stay tuned for more!

See you soon,

Sanjana (and all of SWIndia!)