What's-update part 2

Some more news

Welcome back. This is part 2 of my update for October 27. I suggest you read part I first. Here you go, or you could scroll down, your choice: http://bit.ly/1gRPWUE

First up on the agenda is band.

I'm now a part of Advanced and Wind Bands here. This means that I have band practise every day of my 6 day cycle except for day 5. 

I originally started going to Wind Band to help out the 2 percussionists they had there, but there's a concert coming up and I'm more like a band member now. I feel like it is also making me more mature as a musician, becoming a helper to them. 


This means that day 5 I can have a decent breakfast. I take down my vegemite and honey or peanut butter and have a feast. I share it around and enjoy the meal. 

Because of the concert, the band rehearsals now go from 7:30-8:30, rather than till 8:10. 

In advanced band, I'm no longer the only percussionist. Thankfully some people have stared to come and it's been super helpful.

Sticking to the musical theme, an update about Tabla. 

I've started to learn new beats and I'm really enjoying it. My teacher, Mr Mathias is trying to teach me enough beats before I leave. he wants me to get a recoding of him playing beats that I can then watch in Australia. 

Anyway Tabla's a lot of fun and I'm gona miss it. 

Here's a picture of me and my Tabla teacher:

A couple of weeks ago, the power went out when I was having a shower. Was singing in the shower, when 'I can see clearly now' came into my head. As I was humming it the lights when out. I replaced some of the words. This is how it went, “I can’t see S#!& now the lights are out. I can’t see my conditioner or my soup…” Maybe I should make a full parody of it.

Now, onto food.

I now consider myself self somewhat cursed as a slow eater. Whenever I eat a meal, I am the last one to finish. It's annoying because the people here have the custom of waiting till everyone is finished before leaving.  It means that everyone is waiting for me to finish. 

Also on occasions people will leave and I'm the only one left at the table. But the people here are really nice and I'm not alone for long. 

School put on the best lunch I've had so far. It was a french lunch. Here's the menu:

I don't know what they mean but I remember mashed potato and chicken was spectacular. 

The puns about my name have started to pop up. Are you actually Wild (sounds like you’re saying Ashley)? You should be a croc hunter so you could be actually Wild.

It makes me facepalm every time, but even more proud of my name. 

Another parcel arrived from my parents. 

It was basically a supply drop of food, socks and jocks (socks and undies).

It's so special to receive something from home. 

I made a call to the people who attended the evening service at Canterbury Bapts a couple of weeks ago. Although the skype signal wasn't great, hearing their voices was. They've been in my thoughts a fair bit and I can't wait to jam with them again soon.

Jumping forward to last friday night, my dorm went out on a late night walk. Our dorm parent gave a little tour of some of the sights at Kodai. 

The route was from East House (start) - Bryant Park - Clav Gate - Graveyard - Lower Shola Rd - 500 year old tree - Haunted House - La Salleth Church - TV tower - Coakers Walk gate - Van Allen - Back

Here's some of the photos:

There were some spectacular views but I didn't take my camera with me. 

There were halloween themed events on saturday night. People went to a lot of effort to dress up and some costumes were amazing. 

There was a canteen in the Arts Block and Hotel Rwanda was shown in the mini theatre. I watched Hotel Rwanda, since I'd never seen it before. It was a great film. 

And finally, a picture of how construction work is done next to the road in India. 

The road is all useful space.

That's all for now. I'm having an amazing time, and trying to making the most of it. 

If you want to contact me, you can email me at:

comanduash@gmail.com

What's-update part 1

Been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that

Been pretty busy lately with exams starting soon and also school events. But I have a quiet weekend now to rest, read and write.

I hear that it's also approaching exam time in Aus. I hope that students aren't getting to much work. 

Since it's been a while I've got a fair bit to cover. I think I'll do it in 2 parts to save you from getting too bored. 

Ok, so lets get into it.

Well there's less than a month to go before my dad arrives here. It's a very weird feeling. I'll admit that there's a part of me that doesn't want it to be that time, because I know that that will signal the end of my time here. 

I don't think I've experienced anything as bitter sweet in my life before, and may not for a very long time to come. 

The trip dad and I are going to have will be amazing. Then afterwards I have the joy of seeing all the people back home again.

But once the sweetness of return goes away, the return to normality is what I currently fear.

I never had any idea how India was going to change me. I now find myself wanting less, and to be happy more.
An example is internet. Here it’s slow and most of the time the youtube videos need some time to load. I keep thinking about how it’s basically flawless in Australia.

The thing is that I don’t need internet to be amazing. Yet I still find myself wanting it more and more.  I don’t want to want it to be better. I just want it to be what I need.

Make sense? I hope it does, and it’s fine if it doesn’t.

Not stressed over work but making the most of my time. Because of this, it can be said that knowing my time in India was limited, has helped me to be so happy here (sound like a famous Steve Jobs speech?). 

When I go home, I'm worried that I will loose this happiness that I have enjoyed for the last several months. 

A small example of it is at the end of summer holidays and you cry and cry about school the next day (did anyone else do that?). What I feel right now is like that but so much more. 

I'd like to talk a bit about my legacy here. It's been something I've thought about ever since I got back from Mad River. What do I want to leave behind? What can I do to leave a little something that says 'Ash was here'?

Should I try and make improvements for the school. Do I try to be an amazing person that people will remember?

I think it comes down to the fact that I will never forget this school, and I don't want it to forget me. 

I've helped out in band and school groups, but I see that there is still so much more for me to try and do. 

Should I try?

In my experiences here I've also come up with an idea of the perfect exchange student. Some characteristics I find I have, but there are some that I don't. 

So here's my idea of the perfect exchange student.

• They are adaptable. When thrown into a new environment that can get to know and understand their environment.
• They are be accepting. Things are the way they are. This is not their country and they must follow other people's customs/norms. 
• They are willing. There are many opportunities to get involved. Ask "Why not?" and try to enjoy every moment of it. 
• They are courageous. Whenever difficulty may arise, they will walk through it and everything will be better once through it. 
• They  take responsible risks. Knowing what should be attempted and how to do it safely. Their health is the most important thing. Stay safe
• They are explorers. Seeing the world around them will help them to become a better person
• They are triers. Give things a go. 
• They are fun. They won't shy away from socialising. Get to know people and laugh with them. Creating memories together is priceless.  
• They are care-free. It's all about making the most of your time here. Being tied down with worries will slow you down. 
• They are achievers. They set a goal and work towards it.
• They are openminded. As part of adapting, they must be open to different ways of thinking.
• They are aware. They always have their eyes and ears open for new opportunities. It's about making the most of your time here, and if things slip past they won't come back. 
• They are caring. They are good friends to others. 
• They are self-aware. They know who they really are, what's happening to them and when something is wrong inside them (emotionally). 
• They are observers. They see the world of the locals and their pains/struggles. 
• They are patient. 
• They are organised. They know what needs to be done and how to use their precious time. 
• They are sharing. They share their joys and difficulties with others. 
• They are trusting. When things go wrong, that everything will work out in the end. 

• And finally, that they are loving to all the people they meet in their journeys. 

That's quite a list isn't it. Sorry if you got bored about half way through it. I just though that it may interest some people.

Ok, into some other news. 

We got some new furniture in dorm. There's talk about painting the place and making it a bit brighter.

A couple of weeks ago I saw my first police car in Kodai. It looked like any other car but had a police sticker on the side. Kodai's a pretty safe place from what I hear, but I don't often see to many police. 

KIS was ranked as the best international Boarding School in India, Woodstock came second. We're really fortunate to be able to come to such awesome schools. No school is perfect and there are things to improve on, but I can see why this school is the best. As Mr Eric says, there's a special sauce about this place. 

It was also parent week at the beginning of October. Antonia's parents made the trip and it was great to see them again. 

Seeing many other students with their parents made me a little sad, thinking that my parents were a long way away. It was a wonderful to see everyone so happy though. 

During parent week there was a performance from the chamber singers and the school play. I was selling food and drinks at the door for Youthrise. Was a wonderful evening and the play was great from what I heard. 

Later on their was an NHS talent show where different students from the school performed. It was mainly singers and band groups but entertaining none the less. Great job to everyone who had the courage to go on stage

Also during parent week their was a college fair. A college fair is when different universities have a stall and people get information about the university from them. I wasn't interested in any of the colleges, but I wanted to see if by chance there were any Australian Uni's present. I only found one unfortunately.  

I've moved into a bigger desk now. It has about double the space and allows me to store everything nicely.  YAY

The school hosted a basketball tournament called the Kodai Open. A couple other schools came and the Grand Final was between a school from Bangalore and our Kodai team. In the end the other team won, much to the disappointment of the crowd. It was a great match though and should be very proud of themselves. 

On the night of the Kodai Open final, there was a carnival in Alumni Hall (the main hall of the school). A carnival is where people set up stalls and sell food for fundraising. This time the funds were going towards Prom Comity for the senior prom next semester. I helped a stall that was selling popcorn and some lollies. Other stalls had pasta, icecream, crepes and other scrumptious goodies to eat. 

There's been an Australia vs India one day series going on. It's been great watching them play each other and created a bit of a division between myself and the rest of the dorm. Even though not many take an interest in cricket, we all enjoy watching. 

Here's a picture of a lazy cow for your entertainment:

I think I'll leave it there and conclude with the weather.

It's getting colder and it's also becoming very foggy at times. It hasn't started raining to hard yet, but it may start soon. 

The sunsets have really been consistently awesome. Unfortunately I don't take my camera down for dinner. The sky is always different and beautiful.

I hope the weather in Aus is getting warmer and you're having great weather.  

Continue reading if you want with part 2: http://bit.ly/18Ycg9e

Have a good day.

 If you want to contact me, you can email

me at: comanduash@gmail.com