Student Exchange 2019: Student Reflections on Week Ten
As the Exchange Programme is drawing to a close, students have been able to squeeze in a trip to Watamu near Mombasa. Amaad Zaidi was impressed with how resourceful you can be with a water bottle. Kaleem and Anis in Hyderabad enjoyed camping and have spent time reflecting on their memories of the Exchange.
Mombasa Blog: Amaad Zaidi
“All the Exchange students went to a place called Watamu this past Friday afternoon. For the weekend we were staying at the Temple Point Hotel. Of course, after a three-hour trip to Watamu we all were pretty exhausted, so we rested for a while, ate dinner and went off to sleep. The next day, we visited the Dabaso village. As we got off the bus, we first visited Crab Shack, which is an eco-friendly restaurant situated in the village that is run by the community there.
Our host and guide, David, took us around Dabaso village and we observed quite a few unique things. Instead of using a rope to climb trees, we saw people making holes in the tree for their feet on the tree trunks; it looked as if they were climbing hills! According to David, this method saves people a lot of time when they have to climb palm trees. We also observed their resourcefulness, such as turning a water bottle upside down, and cutting a hole in it so the water can pour out like a tap. All of this was very exciting and new for us.
While we were there, we worked on our capstone project as well. The topic assigned to our group was food and to find out more about the food the people there consume, we interviewed our guide and the other people in the village. After lunch, we headed to the ruins of Gede and had a historical session where we observed the ruins and saw how fast mankind evolved. These activities were eye-opening as we were simultaneously learning new skills and implementing them in our daily lives.”
Hyderabad Blog: Kaleem Adamjee and Anis Mukairshoev
“Where do we start? The day we stepped into the Matrimandir, the day we performed in Talent buzz, or from the very beginning?
We believe that the three months we have spent in India have been three months of learning, fun, and growth. The whole idea of the exchange was not to learn in India, but to live in India. The culture and the atmosphere will break into you at some point of the journey, and when it does, when you feel part of the community at the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, that is when you make it your second home.
Everyday felt like a new opportunity to showcase our talents and to sharpen our skills. The last few days here especially have been a roller-coaster ride for us. We participated in the Cross Arts exhibition where we presented our projects in the form of arts, music and drama. This exhibition was open to all and it felt great as we received so much praise for our performances. Soon after the exhibition came on-campus camping! Camping and rock-climbing was a surprise to us as we didn’t anticipate that we’d be camping here!
The most interesting and challenging part about camping was setting up tents. We divided ourselves into small groups of two or three. Since this was the first time all of us were setting up tents, it took some time for us to finally figure it out. After this, came yet another surprise – a pool party! We headed to the swimming pool where our dinner was also arranged. Everyone was so tired from the exhibition and setting up tents, the minute we saw lighting, pool and music, all of us just jumped into the pool! The next day was all about rock climbing. It was such a fun filled experience for us, something that we won’t forget for a very long time!
We believe that the Exchange Programme is good for many reasons, and also brings about some challenges. For instance, leaving home can be hard at times. We will make every effort to stay in touch with our new friends, but we know life gets busy and over time you can lose touch. We felt this programme has created a shift in our characters and changed our attitudes towards the things and people around us. Leaving this Academy will be sad, but we also look forward to going back home.”
Stay Informed
The students have certainly had a busy week! Stay tuned over the coming weeks to see how the students are getting on with out weekly student blog posts and galleries – and be sure to check our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram!
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