A Day in the Life

Saanya is a pleasant and confident 12th-grader here at KV Tirumaligiri in class XIIA - which happens to be across the corridor from my home in the Physics Lab.

I have been showing some videos that I took in the final weeks before summer break at CHS this year to the Indian students so that they can become familiar with how American students look, dress, behave, and carry themselves throughout the day at our school. This was one of those things that knew before I left the US that I simply wouldn't be able to convey to my students here. They have become fondly known around KVT as simply "the videos" and it goes like this: "Sir, will you show us the videos please?" I have been here for nearly two months and I continue to be asked daily about "the videos". I have started asking myself how I will show the kids back in the US what kids are like here in India, and although I know I will eventually turn to video again, I got the idea of a photojournal from Jessie. The idea is simple - keep quiet, give the camera to one of the kids, and just let them tell their own story. As it turns out, our first taker is quite a budding artist and seemed to really take to the camera. What a way to begin!

She tells a great story with her photographs which you can activate in the Flickr menu by clicking on the "i" which appears at the center of the image when you hover over it. You'll quickly discover that the IM and texting vernacular has permeated the life of Indian teens as well - although judging by some papers I've graded in the past few years at CHS, Saanya seems a bit more adept at switching it off during school.

Saanya has commented on most of the pictures (she took all of them, including some nice self-portraits) but still has a few left to do - feel free to check back for some updates.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAANYA SLIDESHOW