Indo-Italian Exchange
Student Reflections
My delegate, Martina woke up to a fascinating Indian world around her. She marvelled at the small temple inside our house; she was intrigued by the array of colourful spices in our kitchen; and she simply loved the crispy ‘dosas’ she tried for breakfast. In fact, she insisted that she would try nothing but traditional Indian food for the duration of her stay. She enjoyed watching us prepare food, even trying her hand at rolling out a ‘chapati’. Although she had to attend DAIMUN for most of the day, we tried to make the most of her stay with my family. Martina loved the Marine Drive promenade for the extensive waterfront and the sparkling view. That night we tried the Punjabi cuisine with another Italian exchange student, where the Italians experienced true Indian spicy food. The next day, our itinerary included shopping. They loved the beautiful chaos of street markets. The last day of DAIMUN, we took almost all of the Italian students to a ‘garba’ night. They enjoyed borrowing our ‘ghagras’ and ‘chaniya-cholis’; Martina especially loved the jangly silver jewellery. At the DAIMUN social, we DAIS students taught Bollywood dance steps to the Italian exchange students. host students, enjoyed showing them dance steps, and the Italian students in turn loved watching us, and picking up the steps. The next few days the exchange students went on tours in and around Mumbai – Elephanta Caves, Karla Caves, and a Mumbai Darshan. Martina returned full of stories about the rich history that these places showcased. Before they went to Kumbargarh village for a service trip, we had time for one last activity – mehendi. They loved having intricate mehendi designs drawn on their hands,. Often, we stayed up late, talking about our shared experiences. In spite of the language barrier and the minor age difference, we had so much to talk about – common music tastes, high school, art, our love for the other’s cuisines, and so much more. When Martina left, she took with her lots of things – a suitcase full of Indian clothes and jewellery, spicy snacks and pickles, mehendi cones, and hopefully memories of both the DAIMUN conference, and Mumbai. She left behind with me a deeper understanding of how diverse the world is and a respect for her culture.
- Nandini Krishnamoorthy
Talking to Anna, the delegate I was hosting, felt refreshing, as she had a unique perspective on many things, and told me about her own country. It was a truly invigorating experience, to see my own culture reflected in the eyes of another. Seeing the admiration the Italian girls had of the colourful skirts they had worn for the dandiya dance night, the excitement in their eyes when they spoke of the new things they had seen - it made me realise just how rich Indian culture can be. An exchange is defined as the act of giving one thing and receiving another in return. We offered them a place to stay for a week in a foreign country, and an opportunity to experience our culture. In return, they showed us our own traditions in an entirely new light, thus teaching us something new about the place we have lived in all our lives. It was with a heavy heart that we had to bid them goodbye, but the memories we all made together can never be lost.
- Anushree Mishra
