Stories

A group of 6 students and 2 teachers from I.T.S Deledda-Fabiani, Trieste have just come back from our second visit to St. Mark’s Girls Senior Secondary School, New Delhi from 8-16 April 2015. This was a reciprocal exchange after hosting 12 Indian students last September. It was an unforgettable experience for my students and me. The visit to India gave us the opportunity to learn about the Indian school system, get in touch with a culture so different from ours and create new interpersonal relationships.

The programme aims to promote cross-cultural learning and a greater mutual understanding between the two nations, thereby strengthening the inter-cultural bonds between Asia and Europe. Our students attended English and Geography classes, which helped us to understand the Indian education system on a deeper level. In addition, we participated in Art and Dance workshops, learning traditional Indian art and dance forms. We even had a cooking session, getting a hands-on experience of the Indian way of cooking. Most importantly, a ‘Language Session’ was also organised as part of the ASEF Online Collaboration ‘Language-A Mantle of Communication’. As these lessons were taught in an entirely different context, we observed that the students were more stimulated to adapt.

We believe that such skills developed from the exchange will help the students in the long term. After years of online cooperation in ASEF ClassNet Online Collaborations, we felt the need for “face-to-face” meetings and to further foster our friendships and collaborations. With this objective in mind, we started the exchange programme in 2011. Experiences like these are fundamental for the personal growth of students and to help them overcome prejudices and live in a world without boundaries. A special thanks to Ms Anjali Handa, Teacher from St. Mark’s Girls Senior Secondary School who made it possible, and to ASEF Classroom Network (ASEF ClassNet) which gave us the possibility to get in touch and work hand in hand together.