czech out the czech's

The Educational & Cultural Exchange between DAIS & the Open Gate School in the Czech Republic is in its fourth year and continues to be an extremely enriching experience for both schools. This year, a group of 7 Czech students spent two weeks here, getting to know our local culture, our students and participating actively in our CAS Service initiative, the Village Development Project.

The visit to Mumbai kicked off with a tour of the city, delving into the history and evolution of the structure, the architecture and some of the more quintessential ‘Bombay’ experiences. From the steamy rooms of Dhobi Ghat to the peaceful Walkeshwar temple, the group was shown a cross-section of the city.

A hectic week on the Village Project was up next; three days spent in Kumbharghar and two in Matheran. It was evident that hard work and stamina were not alien to the kids, seeing as how they worked tirelessly despite coming into the October heat from a country that was a full 30 degrees colder than ours!

Once we were back in the city, the Czech students went off to stay with their Indian hosts, and had a chance to really immerse themselves in the daily goings-on of life on this side of the world.

One of our students, Bhuvam Patel, who was hosting a Czech student had the following to say about the experience:

“Hosting the delegation from The Open Gate School, Prague was not only a cultural exchange but also a platform for building new friendships. We were all initially very shy with the Czech who were traveling out of Europe for the first time. Personally I have been a big fan of European history and was excited to get to know more from the historical aspect as well as show India to them in a small duration of time.

I was humbled by their efforts in the village where the worked harder than any other group I have ever taken and gave me a whole new outlook on the way I perceived Europeans. Also I was very happy to know that they earned money to pay their trip to India, which was something I really respected about the Czech mentality which believed in hardwork, humility and perseverance. Speaking more about our cultures, we agreed that there were many similarities and many differences in our lifestyle. It was truly an amazing experience taking them out to see the various parts and shades of Mumbai and get feedback from them as to how they looked at India and Indians as a whole.

Adam, who was my exchange student became a part of my family in the week that he was here. He was one of the most insightful people that I had ever met and shared so many similarities with me even though we lived in completely polar environments. The Czech trip brought me closer to different kinds of people with whom I never really interacted with before. Overall, this celebration of two cultures was an enriching and wonderful experience, one that I will forever cherish.”