This link with our partner school, Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara in Kerala, has been in existence for six years with the third Cranbrook group visiting the school in Kochi, Southern India in October 2005.  It is a cultural exchange with the emphasis on experiencing an entire different lifestyle as participants stay with Indian families and attend the Indian school

The overwhelming impressions that they return with are the generosity  of the people, the astonishing level of academic achievement of the  students and the food! Kerala is a very beautiful state and although  technically one of the poorest areas of India does not appear to be  so. There are few extremes of wealth and a large well educated middle  class. One sees fewer beggars on the streets than in London none of  the shanties associated with Mumbai and Calcutta. In the rural areas  life is undoubtedly hard but the countryside is green and fertile and  many people make a living along the banks of the wonderful Backwaters.

The visiting British students are taken in very rickety school buses  to the tea plantations up at Munnar, for trips on the Backwaters and  to elephant sanctuaries. You are still able to see working elephants  mixing in with the hair- raising traffic on the main roads and these  sightings are always high spots of the visit. They return enriched  by their experience, rather ashamed of the abundance and waste of our  country and with an enormous fondness for the people they met. They  are anxious to return the hospitality the following summer.

We take the Indians to London (of course!) Brighton, a big show, Canterbury and other local places of interest as well as giving them an insight into the British education system - far less formal than their own. Many of the students  from the first exchange are still in touch with their partners and some  have visited again with their parents. It is likely to be a life changing  experience.

The students of Bhavan Vidya Mandir have recently taken part in an essay competition on the topic of International Friendship.  Below are three of the essays written by Anjali Krishnam, Anupama Kumar and Ann Raymond.

International Friendships
By Anjali Krishnan

Friendship, however defined, cuts across all people of all cultures.  Even if the language spoken is different or the values that define friendship vary with culture, friendship is universal.  Of all the relationships only friendship transcends all barriers obstructing freedom of an individual.  The development of international culture is based on friendship in the modern world.  Certainly, friendship develops human culture that has been advocating the promotion of best thoughts, words and deeds among individuals leading to the creation or inventions of good, beautiful and beneficial things for human kind.

The world becomes your classroom and experience your greatest teacher as you explore exotic countries.  ‘Live, work, talk, eat, laugh and play with the real people who define the many different cultures you will encounter’.  Meeting new people, connecting with them to understand how they live and what unique difference they possess is really interesting.  I believe that this world can work better if people understand each other.

Naturally worthy friends, who as a team are able to achieve miracles in many fields, are capable of making the world of differences, disparities, diversities into One Human World.  Friendship is the main plank upon which International Culture develops and thrives in the world.  International friendships help to acquire a better knowledge of other culture and broadens our conceptual understanding of the world.  It helps to open our eyes to the diversity of another culture and also to learn the ways and ideas of others.  Benefits of international relations include gaining independence, gaining a sense of responsibility and purpose, exploring differences between countries, understanding traditions and taboos, learning more about one’s-self, friends and family, a better understanding of homeland, learning a foreign language and discovering disabilities and limitations.

A major way of incorporating international friendships is through student foreign exchange programmes which have become very common nowadays.  The ‘exchange’ consists of the foreign student and the host parent or host family sharing culture and comparing daily life and habits while building a natural friendship that will endure beyond the actual exchange year.  The focus is on improvement of international relations and cultural understanding. Student exchanges became popular after World War II, and have the aim of helping to increase the participants understanding and tolerance of other cultures, as well as improving their language skills and broadening their social horizons.  Students from different countries of the world can compare the educational system at their high schools.  This international experience helps us to widen intellectual perception of the world, broadens our outlook on life, friendships and world we live in.

World war had disrupted peace and friendly ties of many nations and divided the world into blocks. The United Nations Organisation is a friendly international forum created by the friendly nations of the world mainly to stop war and maintain peace, provide peace, security, freedom and rights for all and promote economic, social and cultural developments in various nations after World War II.  This helps to develop international relationship which gives the hope to humanity of its cherished dream of One Human World.  Dreams, thoughts, feelings, desires and ideas are really a healthy kind of human sense for the formation of World Union or One Human World by International Culture under the principles of the international body, UNO ,in a thoroughly revamped and reconditioned fashion in the near future.
International Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August every year.  The tradition of dedicating a day in honour of friends began in the US in 1935.  Gradually the festival gained popularity and importance and today International Friendship Day is celebrated in large numbers of countries including India.  On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them.  Exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards, wrist bands etc is a popular tradition of the occasion in this modern world.

Friendship is a conception with no borders and is important for everybody.  Friendship between people is always interesting; it becomes even better if it is international.  In my opinion, friendship between countries, cities and people is essential.  We live in the era of globalisation and there is a need to develop mutual support between the nations.  International friendship is unlimited, boundless and infinite even though it is divided by thousands of miles.

So finally I would like to add that at the present time of high technologies and wide use of the global information system internet in many fields of our life, it is very important to have the contacts with the people abroad to be aware of all the news and events happening in the world.  This internet plays a key role in developing international friendships.  At present we are connected to each other by emails and messages regularly. It helps us and the future generation to create peaceful existence of all nations without war.

We must maintain the international contacts to prevent possible international conflicts, help each other to withstand in our present difficult life and settle together the global problems in humanity.  Since all people are striving for peace I am sure that you will agree with me.

So I end with a famous quote: “Better have hundred friends than hundred rubles”.

“When the individual is good, the society becomes good.  When the Society becomes good, the nations become good, and when the nations become good, the world becomes good”.
Mahatma Gandhi

These pearls of wisdom from our respected Father of our Nation highlight the need for international peace, understanding and harmony.  In these times of strife and unrest, its needs crops up more evident and essential than before.  The youth are the future citizens of the world.  So they play a pivotal role in shaping the world’s tomorrow.  So, we as students, have a highly important role in ensuring the survival of the world and its people.

International friendship is one way of bringing about world peace and global understanding.  And this is encouraged a great deal by educational youth exchange programmes.  They provide a platform for fostering unity and respecting the history, culture, habits, traditions, beliefs and lifestyles of people from other nations.  It plays a vital role in bringing the various nations around the globe together and decreasing the void between the nations.

It is also an ideal opportunity for students to travel, stay and discover the sights and sounds of a new place and become independent.  But, the most valuable part of the tour that we would cherish throughout our lives is the warmth and friendship we gain through staying with our host families.  The hospitality showered on us helps us understand the love and care felt for us in other parts of the world too. This is highly essential in fostering harmony, peace and global understanding.
Today we live in a period of harsh truths where bombings and massacres of innocent human lives have become the order of the day.  We are now even on the brink of a nuclear war which has the ability and capacity to reduce the world to ashes.  Terrorism, nuclear bombs and weapons of mass destruction have become grave concerns for mankind for which the root cause is man himself.  In such a situation, where the world is in dire straits, we have to realise the importance of living in peace, love and friendship with the people of the world.  It is high time that we shed our selfish desires and realise that the earth belongs to all and not just to us.

Educational youth exchange programmes also help remove the barriers of caste, creed and religion.  It eradicates all differences between the people which is a major reason for the bitter hatred and rivalry between nations and societies that pave the way for war.

Our institution has set a milestone in the city with the introduction of the cultural exchange programme with Cranbrook School, Kent, started a few years ago.  It is indeed heartening to see kids share their warm experiences, gifts and most of all their love with their friends from across the oceans.
We should recognise it as a sign of goodwill and friendship between the two nations.  Students should be encouraged to take part in such programmes since it will go a long way in boosting ties and relations between the various nations around the globe.

My new friends at the CPF School in Manila, Janine and Arjon, pulled me on to the dance floor.  As the music played and we began to dance, the sound of our laughter filled the hall.  No.  We weren’t Hindu or Catholic, Indian or Filipino.  We were just kids out to have a good time.  And what made the time we spent together special was the knowledge that we would grow up into adults with a deep sense of respect for our friends across the sea.
And that is the sort of understanding we seek to gain from youth exchange programmes.

An educational youth exchange programme essentially allows young people from one country to visit another to experience everyday life in a different nation to live with people of a different nationality and experience a different culture.  This imparts valuable learning experiences far greater than what can ever be taught through a textbook or even a movie.  They thus transcend even tourism as tools for abolition of stereotypes and promotion of international understanding.

The most obvious knowledge gained through a youth exchange programme is of culture of a different country.  A visit to India for instance would easily reveal that Indian classical music is not only about the strains of the sitar or tabla.  Music, food, dance and theatre cannot be seen they must be experienced in situ.  The highly exaggerated commercialised ‘culture’ hardly scratches the surface of a country’s rich heritage.

Furthermore, culture often extends beyond the obvious.  In many Eastern nations it is considered offensive to enter a house with one’s shoes on.  In Britain, one can use one’s left hand to manoeuvre one’s fork, but not in the United States.  Mediterranean cultures allow for physical contact as a form of greeting, something highly offensive in a county like India.  Our understanding of these could explain the sometimes inexplicable behaviour of foreigners.  This could also allow us to overcome stereotypes of different nations.  For instance. China is a bustling economy and not the land of cyclists and proletariats as was once believed.  And not all Indians are fakirs or snake charmers.

Once we begin to accept the fundamental differences in the way we eat and celebrate our time together, we as people begin to appreciate the fundamental similarities that transcend boundaries.  All over the globe people are essentially the same.  We value a strong sense of ethics, honesty, integrity and love for family.  We celebrate festivals with loved ones, enjoy food and listen to music.  We cry and we laugh no matter what region we belong to.

And this forms the basis of international understanding.

Essentially, international understanding allows us to look at an issue through the perspective of another country.  This would in turn allow us to treat people from different countries as people and not as foreigners.  Before we condemn laws and customs in a different nation, we must spare a thought for the person at the receiving end of the law itself.  For instance, we treat people from poorer nations as the recipients of our charity while failing to realise that people all over the world value their dignity.  International understanding also allows us a better insight into world problems and the impact little decisions in our home countries could have all over the globe.  The ship ‘Clemenceau’ that made waves in the media for allegedly carrying asbestos was allowed to dock in India by the French government, with scant regard for the impact it might have on India.  Following the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, bundles of clothes were deposited in South East Asia with no thought for the more immediate needs – food and sanitation.  At the same time, we will also take an active interest in foreign customs and eliminate those that are truly discriminatory, such as the widely condemned Hudood ordinances in Pakistan.
A youth exchange programme that exposes students to the actual conditions of living in a different country would allow young people a more balanced perspective on life and governments.  For instance, the Western media that so strongly condemns the Cuban government often fails to report the extraordinary achievements in healthcare of the country.

But while youth exchange programmes may help eliminate stereotypes and promote development, the most vital implication of a youth exchange programme is the fact that young people grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow.  They will be the lawyers, journalists and diplomats who will shape the world’s opinion.  A benevolent, widely travelled leader sees foreign countries as friends on the path to progress and not competitors.  This attitude trickles down to the nation at large and eventually the world.  And that is the ultimate goal of international understanding.