Day 7

Well a week in and it really seems like a month. So much data so much info and so much activity, I seriously wish I had a break, but you know what my problem is: I am loving it. It is amazing to be frank

• Day started with Maureen's lesson which on an absurd topic. She spent around one and half hour just to tell us that we should trust our own data and use excel. No details on the formulas and stuff. 
• Then was Sanaya's lesson on investing.
• Then Romana's lesson. Well it was clearly the worst session in the whole week. She had a very poor presentation and I think she hadn't even practised otherwise she couldn't have done so bad.
• Then lunch to let us have our airs in , then a session by Romana. Oh god it was heights, I had almost lost hope and started using net.
• Then, a session by Venil and Aniket on Math diagnostic, easy stuff and then a lecture by Sukoon, Impact team on using the ISAT.
• Well PM sesion as always gave the hope that it is possible and don't lose hope. 

After coming back I spent most time on how to do the much stuff left than doing them line by line. I hope someday it would improve. 

Day 6

Fun decreasing and content increasing continually.Feeling utterly sleepy with the homework completely left now.

• Started with Sanaya's session which I reached very early.
• Then another more session by Kayt. Mohit and Neeraj also came to teach us how to make a lesson plan.
• Then a big PM session which taught us on our doubts of lesson plan.
• It got real crazy with some big difficulty. Then I gave up and thought of doing something else easier.
• Another sesssion by Sanaya, this time on Management.
• Then a PM session again.
• Then our collab group met in CCD to decide the rules.
• Ideally I should have written down the rules and completed assignment but now I am very very tired and am hoping to get us soon.

Good night :)

Day 5

Well not much of an entertaining day.

• A very serious lecture by Kayt
• Followed by one of Romana. Was inspired by her enthusiasm and teaching style.
• Then another lecture by Kayt
• Then the better part of day-the PM session.
• And then one session by Kayt. What is going on? First of all her accent is different and then the content is also not so encouraging and sitting for like 5 hours of her lecture. Someone save me.
• On top of that she gave a question in presentation which had no correct options. Well the applause made me feel that they liked it. 
• Then another session by Madhukar for practising lecture plans
• Then a speech by Sanaya of giving.
• Then we had a discussion on what is giving and then we were asked to write one letter to a person in this campus who helped me the most and call a person who has been a giving tree to us in our life.
• Had to call my mother and as expected she asked me why am I talking so absurd and I just told that because I wanted to. What else was I expected to.
• Then came back, had dinner and relaxed in CCD here.
• 
  

Day 4

Serious staff eventually started today.

• We had our first session with Maureen who told us about Goals and stuff and teaching as leadership.
• It was followed by a session by Sandeep, our school director who told us well I forgot. I feel same stuff gets repeated in all sessions. Nothing new.
• Then a session by Sanaya where more than half questions were answered with " I will answer them later." Then we were asked to make a Firki boy and asked to name our group. We did-STAR TROOPERS.
• Then a session by Kayt on "Backward Planning".
• At last we had session with Project Manager and it started with a song, we had reviews from him and started on a real light note. Then the normal regular stuff said earlier were repeated and it was fun. It ended with songs and we dancing and putting our life maps on walls. We enjoyed it, at least I loved it. Well I am not at all a good dancer and the steps were hilarious but I enjoyed. 
• If I were given a choice, I would rate that time as the best time ever. I was free, free from the imposed, artificial bonds of rules and etiquettes and I danced free as a bird is free from a cage after and year in cage. 
• Well stopping a free lion is difficult and I pursued my only hobby- photography. 
• What followed was the same stuff I had already seen in college, hypocrisy pouring out from people(or just my fear) and I was sad for the first time after coming here in Flame. 
• Well it was my fault I started expecting.

Day 3

Its day 3 and I feel free. Wow this time it rhymed. Well free because of today's life map activity. Let me continue the pattern of previous 2 posts both for the sake of continuity and lack of time to write story.

• I started the day with heavy jogging, and then breakfast. We had to sit according to our birth month so I sat in seat of December.
• Well I found out that we were 3 people in TFI this institute whose birthday are on 30th same as me. The other 2 being Neha and Arnav(not sure of the name)
• Learnt a lot about waste management from Neha over the day.
• We had a long speech from Shaheen on her experience with Akanksha and TFI, how they were conceived, her expectations and her journey.
• Then a session by Kanika and Sanaya on the core values of TFI.
• Then we were broken in small groups for reflection with Madhukar on our weakness and strengths on the core values.
• Then started the best activity till date: LIFE MAP, a map which explains the major parts of our life.
• We are 15 people in our group: me, Srilekha, Sayani, Anwesha, Shravanthi, Nishant, Pritish, Vivek, Hitesh, Rutika, Monisha, Roshni, Jagriti, Binu and Pallavi.
• We all shared about our lives and we shared our good and bad times, the times which made us what we are. It was so great hearing to know that all of us have seen such bad times which are also unimaginable. They have all gone through such terrible times that I feel small as I stand before the ocean.I was privileged to sit with the future leaders of my country. I became sure that the vision of both Akanksha and TFI are achievable. If people like this are working at TFI, then WE CAN and WE WILL DO IT. 

Day 2

Well day 2 and I had no clue of more exciting day.
Following the same trend as previous post I am putting the events in chronology:

• Woke up, freshened up and reached for the tasty breakfast.
• It followed with introduction of yellow hat and then more description and allocation of work. Well my team got to earn money.
• We prepared the list of 43 things we wanted, only to find that only 18 object were left in our list now. Well it was the yellow hat day so we were not allowed to get discouraged, we distributed the articles we could bring on our own among ourselves.
• I took responsibility of tea and coffee materials and arranged that from the mess but later did I consider that the most important part for making either of them was missing-WATER and MILK. Well I thought ok since I can't make the drinks myself now I will sell them to a Tapri(the roadside tea maker).
• When the destination turned out to be very different from my expectation-I expected a residential colony and it turned out to be a major road.
• I spent next one hour with another fellow who knew Marathi. Well because of his presence I decided to act as the mute guy. Well I thought the Tapri would be more than ready to buy our good quality coffee and tea powder and the disposable glasses we had but alas fate didn't turn out to be on our side.
• Frustrated I quit hope and threw the coffee, tea and sugar on the roads.
• We decided to work in homes or offices as cleaning staff, we were ready to clean home, clothes, dishes or motor vehicles but noone was ready for anything.
• We could convince a iron shop owner to employ us for putting name tag on clothes. We worked for half an hour and he gave us only 15 rupees. WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT????? For half an hour work only 15 rupees, we requested for an increase, and he increase to 20 total for 2 of us. I was not ready to go for so small money. I went out of the office only when he became ready to give 30 rupees.
• Only 5 minutes were left before the end time and I had accepted that we earned only 15 rupees personally but a few moments later I found that the air conditioner of an office was throwing water on the outside the office to make not only the entrance to the office dirty but also nearby offices dirty. I bargained with the office owner to give me 5 rupees for cleaning the mess and he agreed. I did that and got 5 more.
• Will with spirits a bit higher I thought why not ask the neighbouring offices also as their outsides were also dirty and the neighbour agreed and I got 5 more, and I asked another neighbour and he agreed too and believe me he gave me 10 bucks. Wohooooooooo. Earning 15 bucks in one and half hour and last 20 bucks in less than 10 mins. I don't know how to put the feeling through nicely. 
• Little satisfied but still not completely being able to leave the sadness away I entered by bus to find that my team had collected a total of 1950. Well my team did good. 
• We reached institute back to meet the amazing Akanksha kids and their wonderful teacher-Anjali. They were brilliant.
• This was followed by small group then large group reflection.
• Then was the time for preparation of talent show. Well preparation time made me see a little bit of tension in group with so many people giving in so many suggestions and everyone with belief in their ideas. 
• Somehow we were able to come up with a performance. The performances eventually turned out to be good. Well I would like to mention that performances of Aneesha di, Saibal and Jagriti were exceptional.
• We had a Jo song and the schedule ended with a dance.

Seriously the day was tiring and tiring in all 3 ways-physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Day 1

Due to lack of time I am keeping it in bullets to help me revive memories.

• Woke up at 6:15 and woke up my room mates, managed to freshen up in only 2 bathrooms and 11 people to use them

• Had breakfast among the constant reminders from TFI staff of remaining 10,8,6,4,3 minutes, when I decided bunk the breakfast, go to where they want me to.
• Speeches by Venil and Maureen. Well got to see how to keep a big group quiet.
• Activity by Milind: The ORANGE activity. Personally I found it as a class 2 story classroom where we had to test our minds with imaginative ability and come up with fictitious stories. What do you expect me to say when you ask what do I see when I see an orange? Well smelling and tasting were surely sensible but what were hearing and seeing as something different?No hard feeling here, am just using my blog as the space to just pour out my feelings. 
• We went to community. In the bus we had fun, Shaheen and Alica were there from staff who kept us in some entertainment for some time, then I happened to take Marathi tutorials from Hitesh.
• Reached community. Talked with 2 kids, well spent most time on 1 kid only. Taught him colours, made him draw mickey mouse and discussed various parts of body.
• It was time so came back, observed the silence till then through lunch to the Chanakya 2 classroom.
• Shaheen led the 1 hour large group reflection session. She made us really think in different perspective, be optimistic, patient and asked us to give the other person a chance.
• Then broken in small group, almost same stuff was repeated, the difference being that all people got to speak this time.(Well I found it over moderated from a group discussion point of view)
• Had snacks, changed for opening ceremony and took the bus in a hurry. 
• Prashant led singing in this bus trip. Anagha was another person pretty excited in the singing too.
• Reached opening ceremony, met old fellows and learnt from their experiences.
• Opening ceremony started with speech of Maureen , followed by Shaheen, then I guess Anu Aga,a board member then 2 city directors, then Shashank a Class 4 teacher(2010 fellow) of Sunrise School a talk then his kids gave us info on submarine and their class rules and values followed by quizzes. 
• Then was poetic performances of kids of Shanaya. Well those poems were really good.
• Then there were talks with by one 2010 fellow and another by a 2011 fellow(I guess Meenakshi).
• After that was the best part, we got firki, all of us. I was very excited, we all 2011 2nd insti fellows were on stage in a semi circle.
• We had a good tasty dinner and came back.

Please comment if(and surely I did) I made any mistake or you have anything more worth adding. :)