TOP 5 – Things you can learn from a 11 year old!

The last one month sort of forced me to post this blog. Its been really hectic with all play & almost no work! Indian weddings are a heavy duty affair. So whether its your wedding or somebody else’s, a wedding in the family keeps everyone occupied.
Amongst the wedding craziness I met this young boy Edan. Though he’s my wife’s cousin I was meeting him for the 1st time as he was in the States. All of 11 he’s a pocket dynamite who seemed to explode everytime he was around us & his energy was infectious. Everybody knows the age old saying about “learning from your elders” but there’s so much you can learn from a kid as well! So here’s a few things I discovered over a period of 1 month which probably I wouldnt have any time soon if not for Edan.

1. VIDEO BLOGGING
Being a blogger I’ve read a ton of blogs & I really enjoy doing it. However this li’l boy opened me to a whole new world of Video Blogging. I honestly had no idea that such a concept even existed. Ryan Higa was his favourite & now my favourite too. But there are a host of others you’ll discover as you browse along. And trust me, its one of the best pass times ever! When my eyes get tired of reading blogs or I need to take a break from work I open these Video Blogs. Some of them a very creative & innovative.If you haven’t already checked them out do make it a point to do so!Here’s a sample of one of his videos HOW TO WATCH A SCARY MOVIE!

2. GAMES
Ok now this is not surprising. These days its hard to find a kid who doesn’t know anything about mobile or video games. So Edan took over my tablet & converted it into some sort of a gaming console. Real Racing 3, Asphalt 8, and what not. Now that he’s back in the US, I play these games when I’m bored & surprisingly its addictive! But not just mobile games, but board games too! I dusted off my Chinese Checkers & Monopoly which helped me refresh memories of hours of endless board games about 10 years back. Yeah thats how long its been since I last played these games, and I’m still very young 😛

3. POOL MANIA
No I’m not talking about another mobile game like Candy Crush or Criminal Minds or Farmville. Pool Mania is actual mayhem in the swimming pool. I consider myself a good swimmer, as in I wont drown if someone actually pushes me into a rain harvesting pit or into a river off a bridge( I encounter both those on my way to work & hence the examples) But I’m not someone who can do stunts in the pool. I enter the pool using the steps provided at the edge & I climb up the same when I leave. But this little boy taught me that there’s more to it than just floating around in the pool.
He showed me more than a couple of times how to jump into the pool using back flips & 360 degree flips & I did give it a go…… though I can lie to you guys that I mastered it, unfortunately there’s video evidence that I didn’t! But again till you actually try it out you’ll have no idea how much fun it is. But be prepared for a few painful belly flops (Not that I suffered any 😛 )

4. GO FLY A KITE
Literally! So when was the last time you flew a kite? Do you remember how much fun it was? Do you even know how to fly a kite? Last time I did it was probably 15 years back. Until this time that is. We went to the beach, about 8 of us cousins, bought a kite & gave it to Edan to fly. And within 10 minutes everyone else was flying it! We even began competing with the kites around to try & see that ours reached the highest with one of us even trying to start a kite fight with another kid’s dad!

5. BUMPER CARS
Bumper cars, dashing cars …Call them whatever you want. We all have seen them. Seen kids driving them & bumping into each other & having a gala time. I don’t exactly know what the age limit is for one to sit in a bumper car or if there is infact an age limit but since I was the only company for Edan I sat in a bumper car for the 1st time in my life! I must admit I felt silly coz the car seemed too small for me and I did wonder what would happen if one of my students or one of the senior professors of my hospital saw me driving a toy car & bumping into other kids. Luckily I don’t think either of them were around & so I did eventually have an amazing time & had to show amazing will power half an hour later to not bump into other cars on the road!

So all in all it was a productive month! And now you know how much you can learn even from a 11 year boy.. So THANK YOU EDAN!