ThreeSixty -

By Tiana Daun

Alarm clocks all across America are going off. Many teenagers groan, roll out of bed, throw on whatever they can find, grab a bite to eat, and rush out of the door to go to school.

This not the case for 17-year-old Adia Singh. Each morning, Singh wakes up promptly at 8 a.m., sits down to eat her breakfast with her family, and goes off to school — not to learn but as a volunteer helping feed malnourished children.

She then goes back to her home and gets ready for school. She takes her time because there is much she needs to remember for her wardrobe. Her school uniform consists of a navy blue pinafore, white knee high socks, black school shoes and a blue and white checked blouse. She also must wear her hair in pigtails tied with white ribbons. Failure to wear any of these things has strict consequences.

“The first day of school,I forgot my ribbons, and I had to stand in a corner for an hour!” she says.

The Minneapolis senior is spending her final year of high school in Nagpur, a city located in the center of India, with a population of more than two million. Meanwhile, the son of her host family is studying at the Inter-District high school in Minneapolis.

Singh is taking part in a student exchange program through Rotary International, which she heard about through the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club. Rotary International sends about 8,000 young people abroad each year through the youth exchange program. In the long-term program, students stay in a foreign country for about a year, and in the short-term program, students stay for about six months.

“It’s really a lot about just understanding,” says Amber Bullock, executive secretary for City of Lakes Rotary. One of the service group’s main goals is to promote understanding and tolerance among countries. The Rotary hopes that the students return home with a broader view of the world and themselves.

“I’ve always been interested in different cultures, and this was the chance of a lifetime,” Singh wrote via e-mail. “I [am] living the life of a typical Indian girl. [This is my] chance to totally immerse [myself] in another culture!”

Singh’s real home is in Minneapolis, where she lives with her mother. She and her older sister, who is currently in college, are part Jamaican and part Indian. Singh’s father lives in Jamaica.

Back at Inter District High School, Singh was involved in a wide range of extra curricular activities. She participated in some of her school’s plays and in the school band. Back home, she was on both a swimming team and gymnastics team through the Minneapolis Public School system.

In India, Singh really enjoys the company of her host family and wishes that America could take on some of the family values she sees in India.

“Family is so important to people here, and nothing comes between them,” she writes, “They love spending time together, and they place each other at top priority.”

Indian families spend a lot of time together, she said. “I just enjoy spending time with them, like watching TV, going shopping, or eating dinner. Those are where the BEST memories are made.” She lives with a host grandmother, grandfather, and mother.

Singh does miss some things back home, including seeing people of all different races. “Here in India, there is [hardly any] diversity. If you speak, look, or dress a little differently, people will treat you like an outcast or stereotype you on the spot,” she writes.

Thanks to her brown skin and long, dark hair, Singh does a pretty good job fitting in. “As long as I dress appropriate, and act appropriate, no one knows the difference. It helps that I come from Indian roots [too], so I already look the part.”

Singh also misses the roles that women have in America. In many Indian families, women are expected to be seen and not heard. They are to cook, clean, and do whatever the husband may need. Anything a woman might say can be overruled by an elder man of the household. However, “Things are changing,” she writes.

In a way, the year in India reminds her to be grateful for the freedom and variety she has in America. She wants “kids back in America to really appreciate what they have. Don’t take things for granted, because you’re lucky to have them,” she says.

Singh’s exchange will finish next spring. She says, “I’ve had my ups and downs [in India], but this trip is nowhere near over, so I [still] have a lot to learn. I think it’s completely worth it!”

For information about Rotary International’s Youth Exchange for high school students, go to: http://www.rotary.org