The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Exchange students savour Indian flavours

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Exchange students savour Indian flavours

Meera Srinivasan

For Swiss, Italian teens, a new experience in and out of classroom

— Photo: K. Pichumani

Bond beyond boundaries: Students from Italy and Switzerland interacting with classmates at Lady Andal School in Chennai.

CHENNAI: One of them is an ace swimmer. Another plays the electric guitar, flute and saxophone. The third is a concert violinist and the fourth works in a circus, what she calls her “serious hobby”. The teenagers will be in the city till next summer, not for an overseas contest or performance, but to study math, science and humanities.

For Isabella Allegri, Cécile Mollet, Fiona Koelbing and Alessandra Cornacchia it is a whole new experience, both inside, and outside the classroom. The students from Italy (Isabella and Alessandra) and Switzerland (Cécile Mollet and Fiona Koelbing) are studying at the Lady Andal Venkatasuba Rao Matriculation School in Chetpet. They will complete this academic year here, as part of a student exchange programme facilitated by the American Field Service (AFS).

AFS was initiated in the early 20th century by a group of ambulance drivers, who helped transport wounded French soldiers. Between the wars, they sent students abroad on fellowships. Over the years, the AFS expanded to several other countries and now, facilitates nearly 11,500 student exchange programmes annually, to promote exposure to different cultures.

The students are being hosted by families here. After over a month, and about three weeks in Fiona’s case, that they have spent here, their perceptions of the city and country have changed. “Back home, we did not have any idea what India would be like. Reading up does not give you the real picture,” says Isabella. In fact, she admits having thought of playing polo, sitting on elephants. “Not anymore,” she laughs. As the city becomes familiar territory, thanks to a TTDC tour and birthday parties at friends’ places, they find it more fascinating.

Alessandra, who was playing for a band back home, is part of the school’s music band ‘Seventh Sense’. Incidentally, band member Sushanth Krishna Shyamsundar is also an AFS candidate, who is back from the United States after a year. He describes the experience as “amazing”. From experimenting with short films to working backstage in a concert hall, he has discovered new areas of interest that he now nurtures post-return.

The foreign students, in class 10 and 11 attend jewellery making classes. They are exploring other avenues such as Bharatanatyam and meditation. Adapting to the school’s teaching methodology and medium of instruction (English) is a challenge, but with teachers helping out they are pretty confident.

Sharing her observations, Fiona says: “Teachers here are extremely friendly and caring, but in a country that is so colourful, classrooms are not too colourful,” she notes. The heat in the city and spice in its cuisine were put-offs initially, but now they are experts in eating off banana leaves and Fiona has become a fan of mango pickle.

Vice-principal of Lady Andal Rathi Radhakrishnan says the experience is enriching for the visiting students and the school. “They have been actively involved in all our activities. It will certainly be a lot of learning,” she adds.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu