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IMG_3574.JPGStudents of the NSLI-Y Hindi program in Pune, India for the summer of 2015 experienced a packed six weeks dedicated to language learning and cultural immersion. Through their broad range of studies, excursions, and engagement with locals, NSLI-Y India students fully embraced their roles as youth ambassadors building meaningful ties between the U.S. and India.
Community Service
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NSLI-Y India scholars built bonds with students of Raja Shri Shivarai Pratishthan Secondary School through weekly visits teaching English with fun interactive games and sharing about their lives in the United States with pictures and maps. In exchange, the students learned Marathi and Hindi vocabulary from the eager middle school-aged students. Through the experience, NSLI-Y scholars realized that teaching a language can be just as fun, challenging, and rewarding as learning one!
Exploring Religious Diversity
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On July 4th, 2015, students were able to celebrate on an outing that which highlighted the religious diversity of India. On a visit to a Gurudwara, a place of Sikh religion worship, they learned about the Sikh people, their history in India as an offshoot of Hinduism, and their beliefs and customs then discussed how Sikhs in the United States have been the target of many crimes because of misunderstandings around their religion and culture. After the Gurudwara, the students visited St. Mary’s, the oldest Catholic Church in Pune. Built in the late 1800s, St. Mary’s originally began as a worship site for colonial British residents. The building is designed in colonial Indian fashion, hearkening to buildings in Kolkata and Mumbai from the same period. Now it is used by Indian Christians in Pune and as a historical site.
The group learned that the majority of Hindus live mostly in harmony with the diverse religious groups that inhabit the country.
A Discussion on Democracy
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On July 21, 2015, NSLI-Y India students in Pune visited the DSK private school where
they were invited to join the 10th standard students in a conversation about elections in a democracy. The DSK students had prepared questions for the NSLI-Y students, and the NSLI-Yans had done some research on suffrage, the Electoral College and campaigning in the United States. What ensued was a lively discussion between students in two of the world’s largest democracies. The students learned how democracy in India works, from the different areas of government to campaigns and elections. The NSLI-Y students were truly amazed by the hospitality, intelligence, and engagement of the DSK students and left wanting to pick up a local newspaper in order to read more about the politics of India. Many of them also talked about how excited they were to vote for the first time in the United States’ next election.
