Updates from my side

Warning: A lengthy post ahead

Ok what have I been doing the past few weeks? Loads to catch up on and lots of lessons learned during the way.

I am working with kids(from 8th grade to 11th grade) on a summer camp on “Alice”(an animation tool to introduce programming in a “graphics” way). This camp is targeted to get students interested in “Computer Science” since there is a declining rate of admissions into Computer Science in the US. This camp is also targeted to attract “girls” and in general kids from an under-privileged background. So its mostly “Afro-american” kids who are part of the camp. They are very friendly and obedient. Every week there is a new batch of students coming in. So I get to interact with a lot of them.

Understanding their accent was a problem initially. Slowly am learning to pay closer attention and pick up the words. Infact one of the kids thought that I learned English after coming to US and he was telling me: “You speakin’ very good English in such a short time”. Haha, I told him we have been learning English right since our childhood and he was really surprised that in India we are taught English

The kids are smart and very creative. At the end of every week, they have to develop a movie/game/video using Alice. Boy! They come up with such brilliant ideas. There was a growing concern in last year’s summer camp that the movies made by the kids mostly involve violence. I feel a lot of video games out there in the market have violence involved. It could also be that boys usually enjoy fights. I feel most of the girls videos are very cute and cuddly and non-violent. However this year, things are different and kids(boys and girls) are indeed making movies without much violence and have a very good story line.

There is one more observation I made. During the lunch-time in the camps, I usually have my lunch with the kids. I have noticed that kids don’t eat very nutritious food. I saw almost every kid eating chips, drinking coke and eating very less of the main course(like sandwich or something else). Not sure how they would get essential nutrients with a pack of chips and coke.

On the whole, the experience with them has been fun!!

Btw did I mention I have 37 hours of my job every week and 2 courses this summer which keeps me on my toes all the time. My other job of my GA is going well too but it happens that since I am busy with the camps during the day, I work on my GA project usually during the evenings(and extending into nights).

Went to a hiking trip to a place called “Oak Mountain State Park” today. The trip was organized by our Rec Center. It was fun and enjoyable. Walking through deep woods, surrounded by the noises made by lizards, birds etc was amazing. The trip was tiring though.

There is one more thing I have noticed recently. My attention or my will power to continue a task is deteriorating. I had mentioned earlier that I was learning swimming. But I discontinued after about half a month. I don’t know why. May be laziness. I give myself the excuse that am busy. But sparing one hour for swimming is definitely possible. Why is it that I ignore going to practise?

There was another instance where I planned on learning something and started it but could never motivate myself to finish it. Does that mean am not very passionate or strong willed enough to complete a task? Does this happen to everyone or is it only me?

Am having an unusual peace of mind since many months past. It’s kind of weird. Small things that used to worry me a lot everyday have no more impact on me. I am taking everything cool probably Good for me infact.

And ya before I forget and conclude I have become lazy to cook everyday This is very peculiar. I used to always love to make new recipes, cook patiently. Last week have hardly cooked anything interesting. Am just making sandwiches, omlettes and other easy dishes and skipping on doing anything major.

May be I am just too tired

Wow, feels like am writing an email So everyone out there, have a great week ahead. Let me go and hit my bed and get some sleep. Dead tired today after the hiking trip. Need loads of dreamless sleep to make me active tomorrow

More in the next post about the movies I watched and the books I read

Snakes

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of snakes?

The first thing that comes to my mind is fear and speed. My home in India is surrounded by lot of trees and greenery so it is very common to find snakes near my home. Once when I was coming back from college, a green snake passed right in front of me. For a minute I was shocked out of fear. Only later could I appreciate the beauty of a snake.

There was another incident where a “baby” snake(not more than a foot long) was sitting in a corner of the sink where our servant maid used to wash the vessels. When the maid saw the snake she literally screamed her wits out and brought the whole house running helter-skelter. Finally my dad had to kill the tiny little snake as we could not have it there(my cousin was just two-weeks old then and my aunt was staying with us so we were more concerned about the snake getting into the house).

However here was an interesting article in the Hindu newspaper about snakes and how harmless they are.

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/06/12/stories/2008061251150300.htm

Not that I would lose my fear of snakes but then always interesting to know about animals

Of kids and sex

Yesterday during a conversation with one of the Americans here, they mentioned that middle school girls here take their own nude pictures on cell phone and send it to their boyfriends. It was not shocking since we get to hear about such incidents not only in US now but also of a different flavor in India(Eg: the DPS video).

I was wondering what makes kids get into such things. I could draw some inferences based on incidents I have heard about and got a chance to witness too.

I knew a ten year girl(whom I was close to, don’t want to mention her name though) and she had written in her diary that she had fallen in “love” with her auto driver. Her parents were in a state of shock. They started suspecting her and questioning her like a thief. However later the issue got resolved and the parents and the girl went through changes for the good(she is now twelve years old). What happened in this case was poor interaction between the child and the parents. The parents never were friends with that girl. I think this is what led to the girl feeling more “secure” with the auto driver who was probably a soul who showed her kindness. Good interaction and talking to the children(I feel) can prevent majority of problems. Such feelings of “sexual” tendency is normal in childhood when we are still innocent and cannot define such feelings or express them. Talking with parents/siblings or even teachers makes us understand the “realities”. When middle school girls take their nude pictures, I feel it is not out of maturity they are doing it but it is out of ignorance. They do not understand or not in the right age to “understand”/”realize” the consequences. It’s an age of literal “blindness”. We do things that we feel are cool/rebellious. The solution to this may not be just simple interaction. Lot of other factors like culture, surroundings, place where you reside, the school you are attending, the friends you interact with also matter.

There is another friend I know who had “pre-marital” sex. Initially I was very surprised. But later I realised that at a tender age like that it is not out of mature understanding that she/he got into that relationship but  it is out of  a feeling of excitement/curiosity/temporary pleasure that they went for such a relationship. Am not a moral police to judge if pre-marital sex is good or bad. It depends on an individual’s choice, situation, culture and many other factors. But what I find disturbing in these cases is that people involved in it don’t even know why they went for it. They are like innocent kids who are tempted by a candy in a sweet shop. Having a mature and clear understanding of what you are doing is necessary. In such cases, I again think, parents/friends can play a role in making them understand the good/bad of getting into a sexual relationship.

Such topics are critical to deal with. Each situation demands a different treatment.

However, it makes me all the more wonder that human beings have so many different kind of problems to deal with.

Brimming with thoughts

At times I feel I have so much to talk about and express but words fail me. I feel like sitting and talking for hours together about random stuff. Your mind can no longer hold all the words, it has to come out. Yet finding no person fit to share all these thoughts, they just circulate inside my brain making waves, twists, exploring, creating and then falling.

It’s convoluted and complex. These are thoughts without dimensions and without meaning(to others except myself).

Well, before you think I have gone crazy it is time to go to bed and get a good dose of sleep.

P.S. It is so hot here in Birmingham. Feels like I would be roasted in the sun when I walk out. Thanks to the air conditioner at home and college, we are able to survive. I sympathize with millions who do not have sufficient facilities to escape this burning heat.

The wonder of typing

My brother was not feeling too well today and he slept early. So I switched off all the lights and was working on my laptop. All of a sudden I realized I was typing without seeing the letters. I have noticed this often but today I was really curious.

I have attended “type writing” classes but I have never used that “typical fingering” method when I use the computer (method of recognizing other letters through f and j). Still I can type pretty fast even in the dark.

This gave rise to lot of questions. How does our brain register the letters? Due to practise, does the brain automatically direct the fingers to the appropriate letters? So the brain can be trained to do some act (which we think needs visual information) without visual information.

Take the example of this blog post: Am just typing into the screen all my thoughts without looking at the keyboard. So it is a direct translation from my thoughts to the monitor. Does this direct translation impact our thoughts/writing? I always feel I get creative ideas when am typing rather than writing on a sheet of paper. Is it because am not concentrating on the style of my writing/hand writing and just focused on the idea and imagination?

Well, questions abound but I have to go sleep now.

Good night all. Sweet dreams and have a great week ahead!!

Of Movies and Chole

Well, it would be cliched if I say “Taare Zameen Par” is an awesome movie. But it is.

The movie was like a beautiful painting. It can be enjoyed by watching it and experiencing the emotions rather than explain it in words. Our dreams are so colourful and vibrant.  Our education system, restricts us so much that we are taught to paint within lines. We have to learn to draw outside lines. Just let your imagination fly: Colorful, vibrant, beautiful and without boundaries. Lay on the grass and let your mind soar beyond the skies.

My mood affects my cooking. Today I just couldn’t cook properly because my mind was distracted and occupied. I was very restless thinking of my future. Well, I know pretty well no use in brooding about the future when I cannot even predict what will happen next minute. Yet my mind is filled with too many thoughts and worries.

Coming to the brighter side, last Thursday I cooked Chole and it tasted very good Managed to take a pic of it. The recipe was simple. If you want to know the recipe, drop in a comment