QUICK LINK TO OUR VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH MADRID- LINK TO OUR CONFERENCE WITH INDIA -LINK TO CHINA CONFERENCE -SETTING UP A CONFERENCE INFO.
Our Video Conference with Mindy in India
Click here for a quick clip when we started
Click here for a quick clip of when we ended
Questions and responses (from what we can remember)
With hard pouring rain attacking our portable, I was surprised to have a connection at all. However, our connection was far from perfect, and to be honest...a little rough! We made it through, for the most part. Here is what we talked about with Mindy:
Jerrica asked about where she lived and what her job was.
Mindy gave us a geography review and explained that she lives on the west portion of India in Mumbai (formally Bombay). She also let us know that she worked as a special education teacher coach. She helps teachers become better teachers.
Abby asked about the schools. How are they different?
She said school starts early and is very competitive. Kids start at age 2.5 and have a 2 part kindergarten. She said they have a lot of high stake tests that determine your future plans (sounds like Japanese schools). She also said class size can be rather large with 45-60 kids in one class. It all depends on where you live in India.
Erin asked about running electricity at home and at schools.
Again, it all depends on where you live in India. In the larger cities, you have electricity most, or all of the day. In some areas you have electricity for 8 hours a day. Some areas have much less (3 hours). Some students go to school without electricity at all (which means no air or fans).
Ashley asked about things she liked and disliked about living in India.
Likes include the people, food, beautiful fabrics and clothes, and sandals!
Dislikes include sweating (with the beautiful clothes fabric, we can imagine), monsoons, and it can be crowded in many areas.
Erin asked about odd food items (like worms!) they might eat in India.
She said most people, including herself, are vegeterians so that eliminated many items they might be thinking about.
Darius asked about monsoons.
She said there are 3 seasons in India. Summer, monsoon, and winter. The monsoon season lasts from June and can last until October sometimes. It generally lasts 3-4 months and rains most every day. If it is not raining, it can be very cloudy and humid. In 2005, there was 36 inches in 24 hours. Wow! They can have major floods at times.
Jeannie asked about popular TV shows and movies.
She said that American movies are very popular. TV shows like Friends is popular. Indian Idol is also popular and showcases Indian music.
Ethan asked about Bollywood and wanted to know more.
The B in Bollywood stands for Bombay and is a play on Hollywood. Many movies, shows, etc. are made in this area and they are often looking for extras. She said she has been asked before to be an extra but didn't do it.
Courtney asked how long she planned on living in India.
For one more year because her visa will expire. She will then return to America.
Mrs. Bunyi asked Mindy to try some Hindi on us (she's been learning)
You can listen to her attempts. We think you sound great! :) We practiced saying goodbye (and hello) by saying "Namaste".
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Our Talk with Mrs. Bunyi's Friend, Silvio, in China
A message from Mrs. Bunyi's class to Silvio and Mindy
Click here for a short video clip
On May 5, we conferenced with Silvio, a native of Reiti, Italy on his experience working in China. His job requires a lot of traveling, and here are the things we learned from him.
Kayla asked: What monuments are best known in China? Silvio talked about the Great Wall of China in regards to its length and how it was built.
Will asked: Are you going to the Olympics? Silvio said he is going to watch it on TV, and asked Will what portions he was going to watch.
Ashtan asked: Are Chinese schools and Italian schools very different?He couldn't answer this because he only had experience of going to school in Italy.
Jasper asked: What holiday is most celebrated in China? Silvio talked about the Chinese New Year, when it is celebrated (Feb. 3?), and how the calendar is different.
Kirsten asked: What's the best part about your job? Travel. With all the traveling comes many experiences, food, and exposure to different languages. Silvio speaks Italian, English, and Chinese.
Roddy asked: Are there lots of subways? Yes, and they come frequently. Silvio said he walks to his job, but uses the subways to get around for different meetings.
Erin asked: What TV shows are popular? One show was mentioned called, The Ancient Wall. He said he enjoyed American shows too, like the Simpsons.
Samad asked: Is there a lot of planning going on for the Olympics? He said planning is around the clock for this event and a lot of money is being put into this event.
Megan asked: How did the lead in toys effect China's economy? Silvio said that it made the news for a month or two, but everything seems fine now and people believe the problem has been solved.
Kendall asked: How is life different in Italy vs. China? Silvio said he thought Chinese were more reserved than Italians and that Italians generally are more comfortable with talking to people. He said that housing is better in China than when he was Italy.
Jordon asked: Are any American sports popular? Not really. He said that ping pong is very popular, and our class couldn't believe it (even Mrs. Bunyi thought it was only popular in the past).
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The American School of Madrid, Spain
We conferenced with students in Spain on Jan. 30 from the 9:00-9:30 range. The students were part of an after-school group that works on media projects related to publishing writing and holding global conferences. Mrs. Von Wahlde was kind enough to help us through the whole experience. Her wonderful students also created a blog site, which you can view here. Our class was really impressed with their stories and it is just fantastic!
Some of the things we talked about included: our school day subjects and length, their after-school program details, places they travel for vacation, holidays celebrated, sports, and things we enjoy to do. We found out that the school population is made up of 1/3 Americans, 1/3 Spanish, 1/3 International.
We are now on our way to setting up other conferences in India and South Korea. Here are some snippets from our talk:
Here is a clip of Madison asking a question about their school day.
Here is another clip of the morning of and all the tools that were needed to set things up
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We used a basic web-cam with a headset. We have also used a microphone but noticed a higher quality with the headset. The program we used, because we are a PC school, is Skype. This is a free program and runs like an instant messenger, except it has a video option and is approved in my county. I found the collaborating school in Spain through message boards (unsure where now), and set up India and China through friends I met while I attended school in Sweden.