Journal 5.9:

Few more people joined the Eco club this month so we now have a big team! In the meeting held this month, we came up with ways to install plants in the dining hall and also create a plant aquarium! We discussed the pros and cons finally decided that both ideas would work. So just like how we always do, we split into groups and began making proposals to submit to the management. Next, we brought a few more aloe vera plants to replace the few that died. Before leaving school for the winter break, we took all our plants and placed them near the parking lot at our school so the gardener who comes to school every day could water our plants also.

Duration: 2 hours

Journal 5.8:

It was sad to see our plants drooping and wilting away. I was alloted the Aloe Vera plant, which was to be kept in Nandhitha Mam's cabin. It was really tiny, but showed a little growth from before. We decided to bring out all of our plants out onto the bridge under the sunlight for sometime. It was because of varying temperatures in the cabin that much growth wasn't seen. Also, the reason why it was tiny, without much aloe gel.

We re-potted a few plants in a different soil to see if they grow, later. It was a messy-yet-fun job.

Duration: 1.5 hours

Journal 5.7:

The morning was a hustle bustle because we had to get things ready for the seminar – arrange the chairs, get tables to place the pots on them, set the system for the presentation and get the jokers and camera men ready. Also, we had a badge that every Eco-club member wore, I so loved it, it was a paper sunflower!

Just as we were set, the 5th graders hurriedly entered the seminar hall and took their seats. First, we played the video for them while Rijuta and I got ready for the seminar. I started off by asking the kids what they think is necessary for survival. Telling them what the soils can do to obtain rich nutrients for them to grow healthily, with the vegetable and fruit peels that we throw away into trash cans. Since, I added pictures to the PPT, it was easy for me to relate and explain. The jokers played their part by asking 2-3 riddles to the kids, dancing around, entertaining and getting them to laugh. Post this, was the role play that was enacted solely by whistling, it was fun to see. Right before the distribution of the peace lilys by Dr. Sonali to each of the class teachers, was a small song that Rolf sir sang, with actions and the rest followed. Soon after the distribution and the rounds of applause we instructed them on how to take care of the plants and then Rolf sir ended it with a short description of our Eco-club. At the 5th grade pod, we provided the teachers with a common fertilizer. In January, we thought we shall do the same for the 4th graders and so on.

Duration: 3 hours

Journal 5.6: Entry into 5th grade!

As we were checking on our plants kept on the bridge, few of the passersby, who were 5^th graders, stopped and looked at the plants, with sheer excitement. They began shooting questions, momentarily, about the names of the plant, how we know when to water and so on. This got us thinking about their high level of interest in nature and greenery of course.
We thought we could hold a seminar for these 5^th graders, altogether, where in we talk about the benefits of these indoor air purifiers, how to grow them and where in their house can they place the plants .
First, we will be showing a short video to them about pollution, how the coming years are going to be if we do not nurture our environment now, then use a PowerPoint presentation to share more information, making it a two-way session, have jokers make their way to throw riddles and entertain the crowd, enact a role play, sing, dance and make them do the same. Finally, we will ask Dr. Sonali to give away a peace lily plant to the class teachers of 5^th grade, separately.

So for this, we had to start re-potting the six peace lily's into six different pots, labelling each one with the section on it.

Duration: 1.5 hours

Journal 8.3: Nachde ne saare

'Nachde ne saare' was the next cheery Bollywood number we decided to dance on. This we saw on another pair of YouTube dancers; Poonam and Priyanka. A 1 minute version we chose and incorporated light, graceful steps with a touch of some robotic moves.

At first, we weren't very satisfied with the initial few steps since it turned out too simple. After modifications, additions and subtractions of steps, we managed to get ourselves fulfilled. We practiced close to 10 times and had two rehearsals before getting the dance recorded. Patience was the most necessary element since either one would make a mistake or forget the step at the time of recording the dance. Also, co-ordination had to be sharpened.

We discovered that we had finished choreography real quick, since we could connect to the song easily. Editing took about 15 minutes of time.

Duration: 4 hours

Reflection 14:

Working on this farewell was pure difficult and important. Important because one, we were indirectly told that we cannot accomplish whatever we planned to do, two, in the last eight months we became pretty close to our seniors.

At the beginning, we all thought that we are dedicating quite a bit of time and hard work just for the farewell, by taking out time to do so, however, we discovered that we could actually do everything.

This was by far the best teamwork after the food stall. Everybody was in love with the décor. Our Chairman was also happy and said that the seminar hall would remain this way until the parents see it. That all got us even more fulfilled. We served food, with love, although it was a buffet.

It was quite a task to keep all the 45 of them engaged and not bored.

This was how it went about:

1) Welcomed them with Corsages after escorting

2) Interviewed each pair and play a small, fun prank

3) Took a picture of each pair at the photo booth, with a prop

4) captured their million dollar expression when they entered the Seminar hall

5) Showed to them the trailer and movie (memories and lines by DP teachers)

6) Began asking them to guess each nickname and then ask them to go forward to collect their momento

7) confession session (gave them chits and pens for them to confess and put it in the respective envelope)

8) Nerf war (at the auditorium)

9) Treasure hunt in the ground

10)Dinner + Flash mob

11) DJ Night

12) Lantern flying

13) Photo sessions

The seniors had an amazing time and that was all that we wanted to hear. They specially thanked us and did the three cheers too.

This project made me open-minded, more responsible, balanced and reflective. Good teamwork and will power were two things that really got a lot stronger from before.

Journal 14.6:

 Today was THE day, so we had to get all pepped up. The photo booth turned out really well, but the 'lantern chandelier' came off the ceiling. Rolf sir got a disc with six mini holes on it's surface. We re-tied the threads from the lanterns in the same spiral design. I did let him know that it was a brilliant idea!




This was the rest:
- I got a few questions prepared for the interview 

- We hung the seniors' photos on the ceiling and arranged the chairs
- We stuck yellow light papers over the white lights so we could get a yellow light setting of the hall
- We got the props for the photo booth set (I got some funky ones from home)
- We set the main entrance frame




















- We hung the balloon lanterns outside, by the red carpet
- We decorated the walls with balloons and the four symbols (of the card game), that I drew and cut
- We hung the symbol streamers on the curtain railing and card streamers at the entrance of the seminar hall
- I made the IB clock (there was a mistake the first time I made it, so I remade it)
- We hung lights in the lawn area and practiced for the flash mob

We were damn exhausted but I'm proud to say that we did almost all the work and the arrangements.


Duration: 12 hours

Journal 14.5:

This was the last day we had in our hands, before the farwell. The lanterns had turned out really well, so that was like a happiness booster, first thing in the morning.

Now, there are two kinds of streamers we are deciding on making: one with cards, one with the symbols. I helped make the symbol streamers for sometime and then went on to making the card streamers. Next, Rashwanth and I made three more balloon lanterns and for that I had to get more starch solution made. We didn't have a minute to waste and so we got the photo-booth frame work started. Simultaneously we began decorating and setting up the Seminar hall.

Starting off, we wrote 'Kings' and 'Queens' on bang opposite white boards, respectively, at the ends of the hall and stuck the envelopes accordingly. We then put yellow LED lights around the curtains.

It was a true hustle-bustle scene as everyone were on toes working with seriousness. We didn't realize we were making memories.

I went on to making a spiral of six lanterns at the centre of the hall, with two others. We used masking tape and all pins to make it hang, temporarily. It was a false ceiling and so we were able to dig in the all pins easily.

I had given my name for the 'Flash mob' and so I was called with the others for dance practice. It was really good, since I love dancing, any day, any time.

Duration: 5 hours

Journal 14.4

Today was dedicated to making the balloon lanterns. We got a lot of yarn and so we set up everything to begin. Amudhan gave us an idea to make this process more efficient. I got starch solution made from the Biology lab, to mix a little amount with the fevicol, to make it thin and stick properly.

After about an hour or so, we tried bursting one yarn covered balloon, to see if the method would work and BOOM! The yarn crumpled together and it didn't work. We were enough tired and the results didn't make us happy, so we stopped for today, but didn't lose confidence in our team.

Duration: 1.5 hours

Journal 14.3:

We had our exams going, however we décor team members spared our study times to put our best in here. White charts were painted red (for diamonds and hearts) and more black charts were got in order to make the streamers. I drew the pictures on the charts and helped in the cutting also. Next we punched a hole on both sides, let a ribbon through it and added three others the same way in the same ribbon. This was very time-consuming yet fun.

Duration: 3.5 hours

Journal 14.2

All of us decided to come to school on a saturday to get the envelopes, lanterns, soldiers and dice done. Some of us could make it to school and so we finished the little bit we could, with preciseness.

To make the dice, we used black and white chart paper to cover different sized cardboard boxes. A lot of patience and speed was required. We made four dice, only since we had run out of material. Being productive, we resumed making the lanterns. Initially we used our fingers to smear the fevicol on the balloon, but later we realized that the process would be quicker with a paint brush and so we did just that. Approximate number of lanterns that we decided on making were 30 with each lantern being needed to dry for a day before bursting.

Duration: 6 hours

Journal 14.1:

Some really cool decor pieces that we thought of making, actually had to be canceled since school will not be able to get those materials. Hence, we modified the material list and sent it to Pranaya ma'am.

Beginning, we made the balloon lanterns (with simple yarn,fevicol and balloons of course). I ran down to the stores to get us a lot of fevicol bottles, partnered with Rijuta first and then Rashwanth to do the lanterns. Water was mixed with the fevicol, to make it easier to spread whilst also to save the resource. I did the lantern part and went on to making mini spades and hearts (boys and girls respectively) to stick on the envelopes, with each senior's name written on each.

Duration: 2.5 hours

Journal 14.0: Au Revoir! (to our seniors)

It was time for our seniors to come together, to have a good time before they leave school. So we juniors got together to plan out on their Farewell. After a rattling round of votes and discussion, the theme set was 'House of Cards' (playing cards). Our farewell coordinator is going to be Pranaya ma'am. I am part of the Decor team and this team is going to be decorating the Seminar hall according to the theme and take full charge of it. The decor team consists of seven people, as of now. We pooled in different ideas and looked up Google for some more creative things to make (the pictures fascinated all). Then started shortlisting the materials required to make them.

Today we looked at these craft pieces:

 

Duration: 2 hours

Reflection 7:

At the end of this activity I had discovered some of my strengths and weaknesses and am glad that I did. I acquired different skills pertaining to swimming and learned to apply them in the right way. I am going to practice this activity because this way I am sure that my asthma problem can get cured soon. Also, I know that I will be able to keep my body healthy and in shape.

Reflection 13:

The HMUN was truly worthwhile experience. We may not have won anything , but we won an amazing experience for sure. At the end of the day, we knew we learned something new today, maybe even just a very simple thing like a new word. All four mornings were a total rush hour and it was suprising to see us girls, get ready faster than the guys did! That mean we got a lot more punctual.
 Personally, I got to make a whole lot of friends from Delhi, Indore, Mumbai and Ajmer, I got to look at various perspectives, accept new things and balance my work and play. The bond between our staff and us, our seniors and us, have increased.  I developed my time management ability, teamwork, confidence and acceptance. More of a responsible person I have become after this journey; I thought it was a huge headache, but it was me who handled my own aadhar card, cash and other belongings and not my parents. This is only a one time package, since it had a mix of knowledge, fun, work and what not. I did discover a lot of things about me and the people around me.
Experiencing a nervous breakdown, initially, I lost all hope. This happened because I wasn't aware of the press corps guide and the bias my News agency had towards  certain countries. Later, when I got a little comfortable with my fellow reporters and director, Mr, Toby Roper, I opened up and felt free then. I saw myself speaking a lot and being determined toward writing and re-writing my articles. So there was help inculcated in a very ethical manner that helped in my productivity and in turn, gave me a brilliant outlook on HMUN on the whole.

Journal 13.3

The best time at session was today! We had a game session, after which we went to the same committee as yesterday (SOCHUM for me). After this, I circulated my placard around the room and asked everybody to write what they felt about me. They found me fun! We said goodbyes to each other and left. The closing ceremony followed, where in they distributed the awards. Unfortunately, we didn't bad any award, but we were happy about the time we had out there. Students had come from 50 different countries, with 16 MUN experiences, so it was very very competitive. The conference was declared 'closed'.

Duration: 3 hours

Journal 13.2

Dressed in formals, we went to our committee room at HICC, after breakfast at hotel Formula 1. We were given an update on the crisis and had the journalist, minister come again. This time, when one of us asked a question on revolution, the journalist replied, “revolution can be anything, like even moving around in your chair”. Just then I raised my placard and declared, “That's rotation. Only when the object is moving and rotating, it's called Revolution. Boom! Everyone clapped and my Director, was happy with the journalist getting owned. I was definitely happy too.
We had motions for moderated and unmoderated caucus raised, hence I felt more like a delegate. This was not something I liked, but not something I hated either.
After this, we went to a different committee from what we went yesterday and I chose IOC with the agenda, 'the 130th session of the Olympic games. I researched on the topic a bit.
Heat augmented in the room with 150 delegates making their points clear I voice recorded a tad bit of the session for sometime, on my phone and then took down a few points.
Next, I started my article whilst sipping on a cup of coffee, to keep myself awake (last night was a late one). Collectively, I gave three of my articles on the USB, to the chair. He checked and gave it back for re-editing. During lunch, I interviewed two of my friends (one from the ATS committee and one from IOC). Post lunch, I went to the SOCHUM committee, with the agenda 'rights of female prisoners'. This committee was a bit boring, however there were a few good things. Then there was a DJ night where we all danced our hearts out because this was the time most awaited. It was the time for most amount of fun, interaction and stress busting. In the hotel room, I finished my articles and somehow sent it (there was no wifi so I used the personal hotspot from my phone).

Duration: 9 hours

Journal 13.1

Today, dressed in traditional wear, we were set for the next big day. Supposedly, there were two committee sessions, each with a thee hour duration. I chose to go to the ATS committee, with the agenda 'Securing the future of Antarctic'. I took down quick notes of what the delegates were stating, for one hour and then pushed off to finish my procedural article. When all assembled at the Press corps room, we were given a crisis and I honestly, did not expect this! Few minutes later, three people came; one as the journalist (who was sued to write the article), one as the character in the article, one as the minister and our chair as the BBC news reporter. They were conversing about the article and later we were allowed to throw questions at them. Post this, I started off my article for the crisis. Later, we got to witness some extra terrestrial talents and eat good food.

Duration: 8 hours

Journal 13.0: Harvard Model United Nations, Hyderabad

HMUN India 2016, was the next best challenge ahead of me, ahead of us. We set out after adequate preparation to Hyderabad, keeping all our baggage and adhar cards safe. Landed at the formula 1 hotel, we got in to our room ( I took the responsibility of the key), got into our formals to attend the opening ceremony and the Rules of procedure explanation session at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). Socializing had already begun. I chose to be a reporter again (here the committee name is called 'Press corps'), so I was alloted the Sakal times, a marathi newspaper, that focuses on the core value of humanity. I had no clue of what exactly I was supposed to do because this was a completely different thing from what it was at IIMUN Cbe. Unfortunately and quite funnily, I wasn't even aware that there was a guide for the press committee. However, I began taking down notes on the happenings. I knew I had to be a keen listener for the next four days. Committee session-I commenced. Our press corps committee contained 20 representatives with me being the most tense because of the same reason. I felt so hopeless, yet I thought I will not and must not give up that easy.
The introductory session started off and just then I felt my heart pounding in my mouth; like this happens whenever I have to speak about some random thing on spot. After stating which news agency we were representing, our hobbies,school etc., we were asked to also state a fun fact about ourselves. Out of no where, I blankly declared that “I dont mind twerking in the middle of a crowd”. They all thought I was a fun person just then and immediately raised motions to entertain! But I denied because, I guess I had to. During the social event, I typed down an introductory article (opening ceremony). I researched a bit about my news agency and read the guide.

Duration: 4 hours

Journal 5.5: Be green, Be clean!

The list of plants corresponding to list of members assigned for the respective plant, was finally ready. I was incharge of the Aloe Vera and so I had to read about some characteristics of the plant and the guide on how to nurture it.

Though we regularly watered the saplings, turn by turn, some of them had their leaves dried! Especially, the Gerbera Daisy – the flowers had wilted, almost entirely. Puzzled, we asked each other how could it happen. Later on, we learned that it was mainly because of the A/Cs in the cabins and lack of soil. Originally, the soil that the plants had was slightly different from what we had at school. Hence, one of our crew member arranged for the required soil by afternoon. Once it arrived, we had to carry that hefty sack all the way from the reception area to our spot, upstairs and that indeed was tedious.

Next, we used a shovel to transfer the soil to the pots. Patiently, we plucked out the moss that had grown on the surface of the soil (of the plant). As I was removing the mini rocks (stones), one of them told me that it is necessary for the soil to have them and so I dropped them right back into the pot.

Finally, using a cutting tool, we gingerly cut out the dried leaves from each plant and watered them before placing them under direct sunlight.

Duration: 3 hours