Three high school students Germany, spent their three months in two different cities of India. As these students depart from India, AFS India conducted their End of Stay Orientation on 5th September 2019. The ethos behind this orientation was to help these students, to stop and reflect on their learnings, experiences, and journey in these three months. The students were asked to take a few moments and share insights of their exchange program. It was delightful to know these young teenagers, coming from Germany, leave behind their comfort zones to experience another part of the world, which is so culturally, traditionally, linguistically diverse. It was also intriguing to know the values they have gained, and things that they had to unlearn, to connect and live with people they never knew. These students summed it up so beautifully, that they said, “Being away for three months and living in a completely different world has taught us a lot of things. We have grown and changed in our perspectives in ways we never would have imagined.”
They could now say that they are open to new ideas, they can now better understand their family and friends and feel more confident about themselves. Having their own cultural experience has proven to them that anything is possible and how choosing to go out and discover what the world has in store for them was life-changing and will be something they will always cherish.