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REFLECTIONS FROM EAST INDIAN HERITAGE CAMP
Wow, we just got back from East Indian Heritage Camp (EIHC),
near Denver (about an 11 hour drive for us),
and what an absolutely tremendous experience it was! Two other Kansas City families went for their
first time, too, and it was even more fun having friends there to share the experience with.
We pushed the limits on time and arrived about an hour before opening ceremonies on Friday morning.
I can't tell you how cool it was to be there with 80 other families like our own, in addition to numerous
members of the
Indian community who came to teach, and 20 or 30 camp counselors, all from Indian families or adopted
from India. One was even a college student who lives in India. Friday and Saturday were just filled
with activities for the kids and the parents.
Saturday evening, all the children performed with their class groups and did the dances they learned
(wearing their Indian clothes, of course!), and was that awesome! Moriah and Emma both danced with
their groups -- the first time either one has performed in front of an audience -- and did great! They
loved it!
Afterward was a dance, with a DJ, and what fun that was! Lots of the parents (especially the moms)
came in Indian attire, too, as well as the camp counselors, and they played a mix of American and Indian
dance music. We were there until 10:30, and we NEVER let our kids stay up that late. :o)
It's hard to capture the experience in an e-mail, but not only were there some great learning opportunities
there, but the fellowship of spending time with other families like our own, the chance to see so many
teens and role
models for our kids, the chance to see them interacting so easily with others with similar life histories,
the chance for our kids to come away knowing not only that India is cool, but that THEY are cool...
and the
opportunity for us, as parents, to realize that we were having a hard time picking out our own kids
out of the crowd and what a great experience it must have been for them for two and a half days to
melt into the crowd
instead of standing out all the time...
I can tell you that it's already had a tremendous impact on Moriah (age 6). Typically a fairly shy
person, she really wanted to talk to her class Tuesday about what she did at culture camp. So we took
one of her outfits
and a picture book about India and some bindis, and she told her class that she went to camp to learn
more about India because she was born there, and then spent quite a bit of time explaining the pictures
in "I is for India." (If you don't have this book, try to find it! It's great for taking
to school.) After she finished, I went home.
When I came back to pick her up, the teachers told me that later in the day she did her presentation
again, when three or four classes had gathered for storytime. She even put on her clothes and did her
dance for them that she
learned at camp! For those of you who know Moriah, you know that this is a huge leap in self-confidence
for her. The teachers said she did a great job and was very confident as she sat and explained things
to the kids.
Wow! That made it worth every penny and all the work to get there!
As much as I enjoyed watching my girls gain more pride and appreciation for India and confidence in
themselves, I loved watching the non-Indian siblings at camp hour-by-hour realizing that India is Cool!
When teenage boys start enthusiastically digging through the racks in the India Market at camp looking
for clothes to wear to the dance Saturday night, you KNOW it's made an impact!
I highly recommend this experience to everyone! We're already planning to go back next summer.
