On September 26th, NSLI-Y Interactive hosted the first virtual event of the 2015 - 2016 academic year, connecting four NSLI-Y students currently in Indore, India and an India alumna in live time with a large and diverse group of students, educators, and family members from all over the U.S. and even several other countries.
The students gave presentations in English with interspersed usage of Hindi on the theme of “One Day in the Life in India” supplemented by authentic photos and videos providing vivid insight into the various elements of their experiences.
Kate discussed host family life, Liam introduced school life, and Lauren talked about the language learning process of Hindi.
I'd just like to say that I really love learning Hindi. It's great, it's interesting, it's a challenge. But that's what we're here for! - Lauren
Sam was able to shed some light on the importance of extracurriculars, saying,
I think a lot of our cultural learning is really coming from extracurriculars. Indian art and music have a lot of history behind them, and they really add another perspective to learning about Indian culture. I think they've been a really vital part of our experience and I'm really happy we can take part in them.
Liam and Hayley also shared on the food culture of India, with Hayley showing a video clip that broke down the individual steps of creating chai.
Throughout and after the presentation, the audience had a chance to ask their own questions about topics, such as culture shock, use of Hindi in daily life, and future career aspirations. The participants enjoyed the unique opportunity to share their experiences, insights and multimedia while making a real-time international connection with an interested and engaged audience.
With Hindi learning it really strengthened relationships for me. People respected that you were taking the time to learn the language and learn the culture. - Hayley
Click here to view the previous virtual event with students from the NSLI-Y Morocco Program.
Future virtual events will be scheduled in the coming months and can be found here. If you are interested in participating in a NSLI-Y virtual event, please complete our interest form.