By David Pinczesi, From Hungary, Hosted in Vadodara
On the 2nd of October we had a celebration in school on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. We were also told about the importance of cleanliness. As part of the service, we also cleaned the school ground and our classroom.
On the first weekend of October, we had our mid-term orientation in Rajkot. It was so much fun to meet the other exchange students again from different chapters. I really enjoyed the workshops and the sessions. We were dancing a lot. This will be one of the best memories that I will never forget. On the last day we had our city tour which was very interesting. Unfortunately the weekend came to the end so we said goodbye.
Finally on the middle of October, Navratri had came. I was waiting for it since I have arrived. On the 9th, my school organized a Ratri before Navratri on the biggest Garba ground called The United Way. It was really amazing to dance with my friends, family, exchange students and teachers. This was the first time I danced Garba and it was very interesting. Next day my host family started fast so I also joined them. We did Puja every morning and evening and we ate only during lunch. It was amazing to do the Puja and I was proud that I could complete my first fast in my life. During the nine days, I went to several Garba grounds with classmates and family too. It was amazing see a lot of people dancing their traditional dance and they were really happy. At the end of the festival, I can proudly say that I learned how to do Garba.
At the end of the month, we did community service with Lion Club of Baroda. We went to Baroda High School where students from several schools were painting and drawing a picture on the topic ’’Kindness matter’’. Their pictures were beautiful and inspiring. We gave snacks and water to them while they were drawing. On this program I met Anita, she is an AFS volunteer from Hungary. It was great to speak to someone in person after 4 months on my native language. She also had lunch at our home. On 26th I went on a school trip to Chanod. We tracked 1.5 kms up and down and we also visited a river which was dried. After we did several activities on rope, I felt like I was at an adventure park. I had so much fun and I made much more friendships from another classes too.