Yeah, everyone here thinks I am just one of them. I get it more and more. Seems like everyday, the amount of people who assume I am an Indian double. I can use this to my advantage though. The other exchange students get stared at all the time. I never do really. Sometimes my clothes give it away and of course when I talk. But it's nice, because I can seem Indian when I need to, but I can also have the advantage of being a foreigner from America too.
So let's talk about school. What is the definition of school? Come to mine and you may get a different answer than what dictionary.com is saying. Actually, no one here even calls it school because 'school' is for grades up to 10th standard. Then it's considered college from 11th grade on. After 12th, they take exams and compete with all the students in India. Then they begin their concentration for four years at University. So it is pretty similar to our system, and yet so different.
I attend a 'HPT College of the Arts'. This college actually has 2 tracks in which you can pick science or arts. With arts the subjects are Psychology, Political Science, History, Economics, Geography, Environmental Studies, English, and Hindi.
Although I have graduated high school back home, I am in 11th standard here. It's alright to be with a bunch of 16 year olds everyday, but I suppose they placed me in 11th because they know the education system in the United States is not as difficult or advanced. I don't even have to worry about my marks or anything either.
I have noticed that it is mainly about individual study here. Most students bunk (skip classes) whenever they want and teachers don't even show up some of the time either. It is not compulsory or mandatory to attend class at all really. It is all on the student whether or not they succeed. After school, every student has tutions. This is for every grade, even elementary. This is when you meet with special teachers outside of school for individual and group study. These are way more important than actual classes because it is when you really do all of you studying. (I don't go to tutions though).
So regarding my daily routine... I go to college pretty much everyday (except Sunday is a holiday). I usually go to the first two classes and then leave and go eat or hangout with my friends. I wear a uniform that is all white. There are about 35 students that actually come to the college and the rest don't come.. ever. The boys sit on one side of the room and the girls on the other. 80% of the class are girls (boys don't care as much). We have one classroom and the teachers are the ones that switch rooms each period. We call the teachers "sir" or "madam". When a teacher enters the room we all stand up until they sit down. If you are late (which doesn't matter) and wish to enter the room, you must ask first. The classes are suppose to be in English but sometimes they trail off into Marathi and when they do speak English it's hard to understand. When the boys misbehave they get smacked on the back of the head. I don't know what happens if the girls misbehave, they never do. The biggest difference between the education system here and at home is that in India, they focus more on knowledge, rather than just the information.
My first day of college? Yeah, I got scolded for yawning (which happened twice) and ALL of my teachers thought I was Indian (like I said.. it happens all the time).
That all explains academics. I also have art classes I attend. Like tabla (indian hand drums), dance, drawing (I am not a fan of this, but I go anyway...sometimes), and I am going to start my other dance classes this month along with yoga and also running.
Ok thanks for reading. I'm going to go study now....... haha, just kidding. :)
So let's talk about school. What is the definition of school? Come to mine and you may get a different answer than what dictionary.com is saying. Actually, no one here even calls it school because 'school' is for grades up to 10th standard. Then it's considered college from 11th grade on. After 12th, they take exams and compete with all the students in India. Then they begin their concentration for four years at University. So it is pretty similar to our system, and yet so different.
I attend a 'HPT College of the Arts'. This college actually has 2 tracks in which you can pick science or arts. With arts the subjects are Psychology, Political Science, History, Economics, Geography, Environmental Studies, English, and Hindi.
Although I have graduated high school back home, I am in 11th standard here. It's alright to be with a bunch of 16 year olds everyday, but I suppose they placed me in 11th because they know the education system in the United States is not as difficult or advanced. I don't even have to worry about my marks or anything either.
I have noticed that it is mainly about individual study here. Most students bunk (skip classes) whenever they want and teachers don't even show up some of the time either. It is not compulsory or mandatory to attend class at all really. It is all on the student whether or not they succeed. After school, every student has tutions. This is for every grade, even elementary. This is when you meet with special teachers outside of school for individual and group study. These are way more important than actual classes because it is when you really do all of you studying. (I don't go to tutions though).
So regarding my daily routine... I go to college pretty much everyday (except Sunday is a holiday). I usually go to the first two classes and then leave and go eat or hangout with my friends. I wear a uniform that is all white. There are about 35 students that actually come to the college and the rest don't come.. ever. The boys sit on one side of the room and the girls on the other. 80% of the class are girls (boys don't care as much). We have one classroom and the teachers are the ones that switch rooms each period. We call the teachers "sir" or "madam". When a teacher enters the room we all stand up until they sit down. If you are late (which doesn't matter) and wish to enter the room, you must ask first. The classes are suppose to be in English but sometimes they trail off into Marathi and when they do speak English it's hard to understand. When the boys misbehave they get smacked on the back of the head. I don't know what happens if the girls misbehave, they never do. The biggest difference between the education system here and at home is that in India, they focus more on knowledge, rather than just the information.
My first day of college? Yeah, I got scolded for yawning (which happened twice) and ALL of my teachers thought I was Indian (like I said.. it happens all the time).
That all explains academics. I also have art classes I attend. Like tabla (indian hand drums), dance, drawing (I am not a fan of this, but I go anyway...sometimes), and I am going to start my other dance classes this month along with yoga and also running.
Ok thanks for reading. I'm going to go study now....... haha, just kidding. :)
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