AFS India started Interstate Regional Exchange Program to give regional cultural learning to the students of schools within India. The program facilitates exchanges between different schools, giving them an opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages, lifestyles that exist in the country by engaging the students into various extracurricular activities and other learning process such as art, craft, music, dance, calligraphy etc.
“Amity International School, Mayur Vihar and Chettinad Public School, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu participated in Regional Class Exchange from January 21 to January 27, 2018. A team of 9 students and 2 teachers were part of the same. The theme of the exchange was “Connecting and Collaborating the Culture and Heritage of Chettinad and Delhi‟ covering the culture, history, art and architecture and cuisine of the Chettinad region. During the 7 days exchange, the students from Amity participated in a lot of activities, conducted Morning Assembly on one of the days on “Organic Living‟ to spread awareness about adopting the organic way of life. They presented an inspiring quote by “Sadhguru‟, a motivational talk and soothing shlokas to spread the Amity ethos at CPS.
The host school recreated the gaiety of Pongal Celebrations for the Amity students giving them a slice of the flavors of Tamil Nadu. They were given a traditional welcome at the Chettinad farmhouse and enjoyed bullock cart rides, biting into sugarcane, along with helping in the preparation of “Shakar pongal‟, the traditional Pongal dish. They learnt about the customs and traditions associated with the festival and enjoyed the folk dances of Tamil Nadu performed by the Chettinad students.
Apart from the cultural visits, during the course of the program, the students from Amity visited many places such as Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameshwaram, Brihadeswara Temple, Thanjavur, Visit To Abdul Kalam Memorial and Rameshwaram.