By: Sonali Ghosh & Nicole Marie
It’s a not so bright and early morning start for all of us as we were up late putting the finishing touches on our projects and presentations. But we are still going at it, and excited to show off our final presentations! We all grabbed some breakfast sandwiches for quickly got on the yellow school bus and off to the orphanage we went for the first presentation. Once we got there we all raced to see the newly built staircase. It was touching to see the bond created between the children at the orphanage and the visiting students. After watching the first presentation, hearing some heartfelt speeches and seeing the children perform a few dances, they then gave all the students who worked with them these lovely customized cards as thank yous. After that, we visited the pathway one last time to take photos and say our final goodbyes.
As we boarded the bus once again, we made our way over to Dehuroad to present our group’s final project. In a small cramped room with no A/C with about 30 or so people sitting around us, a projector and screen taking up most of the room, we began presenting our final project! Even as we were presenting people would be coming and joining the audience, all of them excited to finally see our creation. It was great to see all the smiles around the audience as people watched our video, the kickoff for our campaign. When our presentations were all complete, we all received roses from the Sadhana/CJAM members to say thank you to each and every one of us.
After a long day of presentations we went back home and had a few hours to relax before our last Indian dinner together as a group. We got all dressed in our saris and our best kurtas and boarded the bus one final time. To our surprise, we arrived to a venue set up with a DJ and some chefs who cooked us a delicious Chinese meal. We enjoyed a meal of chicken lollypops, fried rice, noodles, and some more chicken. We then danced to some Bollywood music and then eventually called it a night and went back home for the night – But not before we were given our certificates of completion for the couse. P.S we all graduated!
After a comfortable three-week stay fully immersed in the Indian culture, it will be a hard transition to go back home. We will all miss the vivid colours, the spices, the musical variety and the humble and generous people of India. All in all it has been an unforgettable experience for all of us!