INDO – CZECH Exchange Students visit DAIS

The exchange students from the Czech Republic arrived in India on the 16th of November and visited the village of Kumbarghar for five days. Following this, we met them for the first time in school on the 22nd of November, and together went to the MCA for refreshments.

We then spent the weekend with our guests and took them to visit the Iskcon temple and Dakshinayan for a culturally enriching experience. We also took them bowling and ended the weekend with a small get-together. During the week, the school had multiple excursions planned for the exchange students to different parts of the city. These included the Dharavi slum tour, trip to Elephanta caves, and working with the NGO Advitya. Despite being wrapped up in the various activities, we found time to celebrate Anne-Marie’s birthday on 26th November with a traditional Indian dinner at Punjab Grill. The exchange students also participated in the school assembly through a short presentation about their school and their culture. We particularly enjoyed their performance of a traditional European dance.

They put in a lot of effort and time into this performance. Although they were originally nervous about performing in front of our school, everyone thoroughly enjoyed their presentation. We also took them shopping to the mall as well as to Colaba Causeway, where they bought spices and traditional Indian clothing for their families. They wanted to get a glimpse of Bollywood cinema and music, so we decided to have one quiet evening over the weekend where we all watched Bollywood movies together. Following this, we took them for a walk to Juhu beach and a beach side dinner to Sun-n-Sands. Most of us had never taken part in an exchange program before and so this was an enriching experience for us.

Through our conversations, we learnt about their homeland and their families which was intriguing to us. Since this exchange program took place right after our first term examinations, it was a refreshing change for us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Although we did not get a chance to spend a very long time with them, we formed deep bonds in this short period of time and the minute we dropped them to the airport we were eager to see them again. All in all, this exchange program proved to be highly informative and refreshing for us all.