Putting Our Best Foot Forward

Monday, June 24, 2013

So, how was Europe?

It's been a week since we came home from Europe. All in all it was an amazing trip. The main objective was met. What was the main objective you might ask? To bring the kids back safely, of course. Yes, even with such a complex trip where one could name many objectives that would sound more fancy, the truth is that bringing children back safely was the undisputed number one.

That said, there were so many things we learned during this trip. So many things we saw and experienced that it is hard to even think of where to begin. Where should i start then? At the beginning i guess.

It all started when nine brave parents decided to trust us and send their children to Europe for 2 weeks. The children aged from 8 to 12! I must say, kudos to all nine parents! I am sure it wasn't easy. I also would like to add that in my personal opinion being able to send your child at this age abroad just shows a courageous parenting style that i absolutely admire.

So nine children and two teachers, Mr. Sai and I, took off on June 2nd towards the great adventure of discovering new countries, new things and new experiences away from parents. We were amazed with the the numerous natural beauties of Slovenia, the enchanting water ways of Venice (Italy), the youthful, crazy amusement park in Gardaland (Italy) and the interesting Minimundus in Austria. Our itinerary was packed with activities and sight seeing. Day in and day out. Towards the end of the trip the itinerary was getting more and more tiring and we crossed out few things we originally planned to see. But that was the only sensible thing to do since the children were clearly showing the signs of saturation and tiredness. I guess the art is to just keep your eyes and heart open and constantly observe how they respond and act. It is not like with the adults that could just push them self just to get that value for money out of a foreign trip - you need to stop and think many times when dealing with children. And we did.

We appeared in Slovene media - two major family magazines and we filmed for a children TV show on TV Slovenia 1 program that will air in October. The children were always making us proud with their behavior, curiosity, openness and friendliness. People were stopping me on the streets inquiring where we are from, who we are. People were thoroughly impressed with our Sanctamarians and bottom line, so was I. I was very proud of our kids!

Jana, a family magazine - once i get the hard copy i will translate it to English and display it in school.

Beautiful article in Ona magazine - again, waiting for hard copy, then translation follows :)

If there would be one learning that i would point out it would definitely be this: I observed our children are not exposed to different terrains - i have a funny analogy on that one - in a way our kids are like race horses - very good when the racetrack is covered with the familiar sand, but send them out in the wild, they are inexperienced and sometimes plain clumsy. I noticed it on our treks. That is why i couldn't support our school tie up with Youreka stronger (and any other tie ups we might have with companies providing nature camps)! They need to have that experience. I feel very strongly about it.

And on a lighter note - next time we go, we need to pack a jar of home made pickle and red chili powder :) Children missed food more then parents and anything else!

To conclude, we made tons of memories that might last a life time. We gained valuable experience in the area of organizing safe trips for our children. We tied up with few schools to eventually start an exchange program that will benefit us all and last but not least, we had so much fun! :)

Thanking all parents for their trust and our amazing management for making it all happen!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Europe, here we come!

We are all set to depart for our European adventure! Visas, tickets, accommodation, transportation, health insurance,...it's all set and done. The countdown begins for our students to go and explore Slovenia, Austria and Italy. 16 days and Sancta Marians will till take off! :)

Slovenia, a beautiful, little country in the alpine region will be our base. It is conveniently located in the heart of Europe and recently discovered even by Tollywood! In a week's time (i read that in yesterday's Times of India") the filming of a second South Indian film will take place there. When i try to give a brief mental picture to any Indian, i describe Slovenia as small Switzerland - because Switzerland is so known to Indians through movies and because it's true.

We will discover not only Slovenia and it's natural beauties through hiking, rafting and exploring cities but we will also visit Italy and Austria, the neighboring countries. Since it is known that a picture tells more then thousand words just see below a glimpse of some of the places that what we will see during our trip. The excitement is in the air and we can't wait to go!

Bohinj, Slovenia

Sea Life, Gardaland, Italy

Klagenfurt, Austria

Piran, Slovenia

Soca river, Slovenia

Venice, Italy

Vintgar gorge, Slovenia

Bled, Slovenia

Soca river, Slovenia

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Night out at Yercaud 2013

Sancta Maria students of grade 3 and above went to a summer camp with Youreka! The camping adventure was absolutely amazing. In my personal opinion i can not think of a greater holiday gift that can last a life time a parent can give to a child. It’s not easy, that’s for sure. There are challenges, tears, and homesickness on one hand but there are priceless rewards of personal growth and satisfaction on the other hand that greatly outweighs the hard parts – even if children are not quite aware of it yet.

While I was taking a precious break with a blue mustache drawn on my face (it was a mustache day theme, mind you) in the shade of the Lapa Lapa place, the kids were getting ready for the night out. You might ask: Exactly what is a night out when one is already camping in tents in the middle of nowhere? Nowhere in this case being in the middle of the Arabica coffee plantation and aromatic eucalyptus trees not far from Yercaud in Tamil Nadu. Sancta Maria students were getting ready to camp in the wilderness. Out in the open. Out, under the stars. Out, away from civilization. Out, away from the comfort of toilets.

Imagine, just bunch of Sancta Marians, 3 instructors, heavy back packs filled with tents, sleeping bags, utensils, food provisions, small camping gas cylinders, canisters of water - venturing out in the jungle to spend the night under the stars being self-sufficient. Pitching their own tents and cooking food without much help. Now, that is what I mean by night out! And what a night out it was!

Earlier in the day the children learned how to pitch tents in the camping ground. Little did they know that in the evening itself they will have to prove their skills and pitch them for real and actually sleep in them. They were briefed about the LNT philosophy (LNT =leave no trace), the most important aspects of fire safety when used for cooking a meal out in the open, the art of packing the rucksack and just like that they were ready to go in the late afternoon. The weather was not exactly on our side. It started raining heavily. Everyone got their rain ponchos out. Just as we were all ready. The rain stopped. “Ok, children, rain ponchos off and pack them inside.” Yay, sun! Just as we all undressed and packed the ponchos it started raining again. “Oh, come on!” kids exclaimed. “Ponchos on!” command was heard again. Some children lost it there itself – admittedly I myself was questioning the sanity of marching out in the rain, getting drenched and hike for few kilometers and set up the tents. Of course at that point I was not aware that before the monsoon sets in, the afternoon heavy showers are a normal thing in the area and they disappear as fast as they appear. Before everyone was ready with their ponchos on, the rain passed and the sun was out again. There were a lot of confused eyes wondering what to do next. Ponchos off, on, off, on!

Well, the clear blue sky and the sun convinced us all that “ponchos off” is finally the safe option and that we are finally ready to get going. The centipede like row of enthusiastic campers finally started to move ahead. Loaded with heavy rucksacks the complaints started to rain in.

“My shoulders hurt,” said Rishita. “Well, the shoulders hurt, because you are carrying a heavy backpack – it is very normal. Get used to it,” I replied to her big astonishment.
“This backpack is too heavy,” said Arnav. “If it was too heavy you couldn’t lift it.” Was the best I could come up with.
“Are we there yet?” and “How much longer?” The most common ones they asked. “We just started! It’s too soon for such questions!” :)

Yes, it might be that for the first time in their lives they have experienced a bit of hardship in the nature and the answers were not very comforting. Half way through the easy hike we also had to carry 30 liters of water distributed in plastic canisters. But as with all things, the hike came to an end and we reached our camping ground. Well, it was just a ground, really, that we turned into camping. Children pitched their tents in very windy weather conditions that made the pitching harder and funnier, too! The tent fabric flapping like a distressed bird trying to escape the inevitable with lots of drama and sound.

Surprisingly fast the tents were pitched and ready. Everyone started preparing for the cooking part with great gusto. There were definitely more eager helping hands than tasks at hand. We had a team who cooked the soup, a team that cooked rice, a team that made potato curry and finally a team in charge of tomato dhal.

A lip-smacking dinner was served and tired and happy campers quickly retired to their respective tents for a good night sleep. Some tents went quiet almost in an instant while some were bustling with laughter and conversations for a long time. Finally, everyone went quiet and we put off the fire and slept.

The next morning it was like we needed to reverse the entire thing. We had to un-pitch the tents, clean, pack and walk back to our camping that all of a sudden gained an amazing respect with all of us. It almost seemed like a 5 star hotel just because toilets were available! Children enjoyed the night out without fail. So much team work and bonding happened in just one day. It was indeed a very precious experience for all of us.