The Indo-Italian Exchange Program 2015
Ciao. Il mio nome e Aashna!
Umm… that's basically all the Italian I learnt from my two foreign exchange guests, Francesca and Flaminia. From the 19th to the 25th of November’15, 16 students of DAIS hosted 23 Italian students from Rome. Not only did these guests get to be a part of the prestigious DAIMUN, but they also explored Mumbai through tours, movies and open-air markets.
We picked them up from the airport at 9pm on the 19th November and almost immediately started conversing about our cities, our culture, our difference and similarities. I was initially quite apprehensive that the language barrier would hinder our conversations, however, we were soon joking and sharing with each other.
On their first day, our guests spent an entire day at school. They came with us to classes, learnt a little Hindi and got a thorough tour of our school. After attending house assembly and piquing their interest with our school’s social dynamics, we joked about them being so well-informed that they could even join school the next day. Following a long day at school, the guests got their preview of DAIMUN 2015 with a lobbying session in each of their committees and the first taste of India with their first official Indian meal of rice and roti!
The next three days were filled with more days of MUN debates along with a transfer of culture. A few hosts went with their guests to watch the new James Bond movie in a typical Indian multiplex. I even had the pleasure of cooking Italian food with my guests who had generously brought me pasta, cheese and pasta sauce. I’ll always cherish our mehndi sessions and helping Flaminia wear the sari she had inherited from her grandmother.
For the next two days, the Italian delegation visited famous Indian heritage sites in and around Mumbai and enjoyed a trip to the Elephanta caves as well. We went shopping to Colaba Causeway and ate at Indian Chinese and Italian restaurants too.
On the 28th of November, exactly 10 days after the arrival of the delegation, it was time for goodbye. And although we shared countless memories, we all wished for more time together. I could proudly say that I was able to befriend two of the sweetest, most genuine girls I've ever met and get enriched with a cultural exchange like no other.
They themselves returned home with knowledge about our country from their personal experiences. They learnt a culture completely different from their own and were able to grasp so many aspects of our country in just the 10 days they were here. Many of them spoke of the extent of poverty prevalent on the streets and were bewildered by its dominance. We explained to them consequences of a large population in a relatively small area and spoke about the existence of poverty (in a far less amount) in Italy as well. They learnt the significance of the bindi on a married woman’s head and the importance of taking your shoes off before entering someone’s house. They learnt to eat with their hands and some of them visited Indian temples too! I was shocked to see Simone, one of the Italian students, bargain the price of a notebook to half its price with the vendor, on Colaba Causeway, without any assistance! He told me how they bargain prices in the markets in Italy too and similarities between our lives began to appear.
I hope our guests had as much of an enriching, fun, unique and exciting experience and their hosts and wish that we stay in touch and continue exploring each other’s worlds.
-Aashna Sundesha
Grade 10