Last day

The day we had to present our project had come, the day we had to put together all that we had learnt had come, the day to say good-bye had come. Yes, it was the last day of the first phase of The Indo-German Exchange Programme 2014. The day was properly scheduled. We were given our last two hours for preparation after which we would have to conduct our presentations group wise in front of the important board members of the school, the parents, the students in the programme and a few other Nasrites. Each and every group had done an excellent job and had completely justified the topic given to them. They received a lot of  appreciation from everyone. After a short break, when all the parents left, we had a feedback session where everyone spoke about their experiences, their buddies, the host families, what they liked/ disliked about the city and the activities in the past few days.

 
 The few hours we had before we had to be at the airport, were very well planned by us, Indians. We wanted to throw a surprise party for them to show them how special they are to us and how much we are going  to miss them. Keeping it a surprise wasn't easy, we had to make up so many stories to hide our plans. It was a terrace party and we made them even more curious by blindfolding them. They loved the surprise! The party was so much fun with all the great music and good food. Then came the most awaited part, the lighting of Chinese lanterns. We hadn't noticed until then that some of the lanterns had happy faces and some had sad faces drawn on them which was pretty much ironical about how we felt at that moment. We were happy about meeting such amazing people and for all the good times we had shared but we were also very sad that we have to wait for three long months to live those moments again.




We all had mixed feelings about them leaving but I think, more than anything, we were anxious about what we would do without them. Those two weeks were easily the most memorable times in each of our lives. We learned, laughed, lived together! It was like an important part of our lives is going to be taken away and it'll never be the same again. We just didn't want to accept that, we just didn't want them to leave. A lot of us broke down at the airport as we watched them leave, some of them broke down too. Maybe it is true that it's harder to be left behind than the one to go. But then again, it is also true that we are all lucky to know people who are so hard to say good bye to. I guess that's why there is a 'good' in good-bye.


 We miss them all. Can't wait till we meet again. <3
- Tanusha Bajaj ^^

Day 15!

The 15th day and also the second last day of the first phase of the Indo-German Exchange Program began with all thirty-six of us meeting at school for our project work. We had one hour to do some of our project work before we left school for the dream place of all aspirants of business management- The Indian School of Business. Our visit to the ISB was co-ordinated by our school counsellor, Mrs. Zenobia Rustomfram and the first view of the campus left us in awe. After reaching the ISB and taking in the amaxing sight, Mrs. Zenobia introduced us to four students of the ISB who would show us around the campus. While seeing the campus, each and every one of us were left dumb-struck. The recreational facilities, the calm atmosphere and the campus in a whole was a place worth studying. After seeing around the entire campus, we had our lunch in the campus atrium and each one of us was given a cloth bag with the ISB Magazine as a token of gratitude. After that, we left ISB and headed back to school to continue with our project work. A detailed run-through of all the presentations was conducted and then all of us went home to get dressed up for the farewell dinner.

 Our farewell dinner, which marked the beginning of the end of their trip to India, was held at Marigold Hotel and was compeered by Palak amd Malavika and was attended by the parents of all the students. The program started by video presentaion which brought back the memories of all these days and was followed by a speech by Mrs. Stephanie. The other events of the night were the German National Anthem sung by all the students from Hamburg after which an introductory movie about Hamburg, made by the students from there was played. Three students from India and two from Germany then shared a few words about their experiences. A song by the Indians, a dance by the Germans and the distribution of momentoes to all the students marked the end of the night's program after which everybody headed for the delecious food that awaited us. After the dinner and aftrr a few moist eyes, all of us left for our respective houses as an eventful and sad-but-happy day awaited us.
  -Srishtti Doshi

Day 14

On day 14 my buddy, Victoria and I woke up, got ready and left home by 8:30 a.m. Once we reached school, we were told that we would be leaving for Ramky Industries by 10 a.m.
The dumping ground in Jawaharnagar is jointly owned by the GHMC(Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation) and Ramky Industries. Literally all the garbage from the city is taken there to be treated. We arrived just as the last of the garbage trucks reached the site. 
Due to the amount of garbage accumulated, the whole place stank. A LOT. We were given masks and had previously been asked to wear full-sleeved clothes so that the chemicals wouldn't harm us. None of it helped with the smell though.
Though the visit was very unpleasant, it was quite enlightening.We learnt about the methods of disposal of solid and liquid wastes. The liquid wastes, after treatment can actually be domestically used!
On the way back, we ate burgers from McDonalds and Mirinda or Mountain Dew.
Once back in school, we were given time to work on our projects. We worked till about 4:30 p.m, then, Trishla, her buddy, Alex, Victoria and I left for my house where Alex tried on a saree. She looked like a pretty Indian doll but decided not to wear it for the dinner tomorrow because she wouldn't be able to dance in it.
Victoria and I packed our bags for a sleepover at Trishla's house and headed over there to finish our project work. We worked on the project till quite some time and  went to bed pretty late. We were content through, because we got a lot of our work done. 
-Shweta Mehta

Day 12

After a good sleep thirty six of us had breakfast at the Harita Kakatiya Hotel and left for Tadvai. Tadvai is a district ,a few hours away from Warangal. We were all dressed up in dark colours as we were prepared to drive into the forest. We were entered into the Eturnagaram Wildlife Santuary which is known for The Indian Bison or The Gaur. It is also known for The Giant Squirrel and few species of snake. We had a talk with the Divisional Officer of the Forest Department. The forest was known to have tigers which have migrated. After all the talking we had a small walk into the forest where we stopped the Giant Squirrel, frogs, and a large variety of trees (some were poisonous too! ). It was lunch time as we moved towards the Harita Lake Resort. It was a beautiful site, a resort in the center of a huge lake which we reached by walking across a long bridge. Post lunch we sailed into the lake and landed at a small island where we spent sometime with each other and splashed water too. We set off for the hotel after we spent some blissful time with everyone. We had dinner and left for Hyderabad from Warangal. We reached home too late and all of us were very tired. Fortunately, the next day was a holiday so we could rest well.
-Riya Chhajlani 

Day 11.

At the crack of dawn, 18 Nasrites and 18 Germans along with 4 teachers met at the Nasr School playground from where we all boarded our buses to Warangal! This trip was organized by the WWF or World Wildlife Fund. The WWF is an international non-governmental organisation working on issues regarding conservation, research and restoration of the environment. It is the world's largest independent conservation organisation. It's aim is to stop the degradation of the planet's  natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: oceans and coasts, forests and freshwater ecosystems.  Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change.
Our first halt was at the Shri Jain Swetambar Tirth where we learnt about Jainism as we walked about the magnificent architectural establishment.  We then made a beeline for the Pembarthi district where we had breakfast at the Haritha Wayside Amenities. Our next destination was Shyampet where we were taken to the project arena of WWF. The esteemed staff of WWF educated us about sustainable agriculture, water management etc. Lunch comprised of South Indian delicacies. Cotton picking was a fun-filled activity! After the visit to the cotton farm we went to the Gangadevi Palli Model Village where we interacted with the village head, Mr. Raja Mouli. We were enlightened with the various exquisite aspects of this ideal village, main ones being prohibition of consumption of alcohol, equal participation of women, purified drinking water, sanitation etc.
After a long day, we finally arrived at the hotel Haritha where we were put up. After room allotments we had dinner and then enjoyed with our friends. It was a wonderful day.
- Rajvi Mehta

Day 10

Today was a day filled with fun and enthusiasm! We started off by peeling potatoes and slicing onions, cooking together which lead to the preparation of a delicious lunch. We cooked and tasted German and Indian food. Later, the German's attended Angie ma'am's classes in three groups and saw the way we study and learn in school. We also dipped our scarves in colours and learnt something called tie and dye. The terrace was filled with colourful scarves with creative and different patterns. We enjoyed a good meal and went back to working on our projects. All of us are home now, packing and getting ready for a weekend at Warangal.

- Prerana Maheshwari

day 9.

Day 9
It was yet another school day with lots of activities waiting for us. In the first session we had Divya Nawale as our guest speaker for the day. She spoke to us about her expedition to Antarctica and the company she worked for called 2041. She showed us some interesting pictures of her expedition and the beautiful landscape of Antarctica. After this we worked on our projects for a while before we headed for a delicious lunch. We had biryani for lunch and spent the next few hours working on the group projects.
After that we left for Goethe Zentrum , German center, for celebrating Sankranti with the teachers there. We played games like kho-kho and three legged race. After that we also filled colours in the rangoli and flew kites. It was a fun filled day. We all left for home at around 6:00 p.m.

- Dakshaa Singhvi

Day 8

Today was a festival called Sankranthi, it is also known as the kite flying festival. to celebrate the same, all of us went to a kite flying festival. It was a lot of fun and yes, everyone enjoyed themselves. After that a few of us went to Palak's house and had lot of fun! We had lunch first and later played games. Ben and Jens also played soccer with Palak's neighbours in the parking lot and the germans won in what we like to call our own indo-german soccer fest. The soccer match was followed by a few attempts to fly kites but there was no wind and also it was time to go home since it was getting dark. It was a fun filled day and I am sure everyone enjoyed themselves.

-Nithya Kishore

Day 7.

Day 7.    
      My buddy Marlies and I had gone to my friends place for a sleepover. So at 12.30 a.m, they wore their sarees and all of them looked beautiful. that was how our day started and the fun that followed matched up to the beginning.
    We clicked many pictures together to capture all these beautiful memories. They all looked like models and looked pretty. Then we spoke for some time and slept at 4.00 a.m in the morning.
  After that we took a bath and went to Inorbit. As it was 'Sankranti', we all had 3 days off from school. The next day we were all going to meet at golf club for celebrating the festival and so my buddy had to buy an Indian dress. So then I helped my buddy buy Indian clothes and she got kurtis for herself.
   These three days were amazing because I got to know My buddy even more. After that we went for laser tag. There we were waiting for our turn and my buddy so cutely and sweetly started dancing on Indian songs. Oh my God!! It was hilarious. I laughed so much. Then we came back and had pizzas, cakes and coke from dominos.
       Then my buddy put mehendi on her hands and it was very pretty. Tired, we all slept.

Day 6

Day 6. Sunday. It was our first day off from school and we had the whole day to just relax and do whatever we pleased. We also had a day to sleep late into the day after a very tiring weekend at Greenfields. Today, everyone had their own plans with their buddies.

Simran, Conner, Palak, Rebecca, Aapeksha, Ben, Henriette and I went Laser Tagging and go-karting and spent the evening together. It was an enjoyable day and I'm looking forward to the rest of the time that our buddies are going to spend in India. With Sankranti coming up, I know that the next two days are going to be full of interesting activities and interesting people.
- Malavika Adiga

Day 5

We woke up and had yummy hot chocolate before leaving for the short trek.  We went trekking till Osman Sagar Dam in Gandipet and while coming down we did rock climbing which was fun.  After enjoying the fresh morning air we came back to Green Fields where our breakfast was waiting for us. We finished our breakfast and then we had a session on Sustainable Agriculture, and if whether  conventional agriculture is better than perma culture. After that we had an interactive session where we were divided into two groups and were made to play games, which were fun but at the same time they got us thinking and by the end we also got an opportunity to learn from the activities. As soon as we were done with that, our lunch was served which was very tasty again. After lunch we wrote our feedback about the whole experience in Green Fields and went to pack up. We packed up and were waiting for our parents to come and pick us up. Our parents came and had tea with snacks while interacting with the German teachers and also with each other.  Once that was done we left for our respective homes with loads and loads of sweet memories but were sad that such an amazing weekend had come to an end.
-Mahi Balusu

Day 4!

On day 4 we had school from 9:30 as a speech was cancelled. Once we all arrived at school, we played games! Bishop sir, our sports incharge organised them for us. We played dog and the bone first and then we played kabbadi. Later some of us played Basketball. The eleventh graders were there to see us play. We then went to the CII. There was a host who showed us around the building and he told us that CII is the first Platinum rated Green Building in Hyderabad. The CII is a Green building as it uses less water,it uses the resources efficiently and the plants grown there are very selective and drought-resistant. Most of them are local plants that are adaptable and do not require much water to survive. The architecture is modern yet, traditional!
We left soon after that and relished yummy sandwiches for lunch in the bus, on the way to Greenfields. Greenfields is an outbound camp and it is owned by Zenobia ma'am. When we reached there we played two games and they were really fun! We learnt a lot about teamwork and, at the same time, enjoyed a lot! Then we went to the NDS play put up by the Nasr Boys School. It was a thriller based on the Sherlock Holmes story, The Speckled Band. After the play we went back to Greenfields.
We had dinner there and later, Zenobia ma'am had a camp fire arranged for us. Everybody enjoyed the warmth of the fire, sang songs and danced. At the camp there were seven tents and a loft. The boys slept in one tent, the teachers slept in the other four tents, some of the girls slept in the remaining tents and the others slept in the loft.
-Hema Vaishnavi

Day 3

Time is passing so quickly! It was the third day of our programme today and we did a lot of work. The day started with the introduction of our projects and our activity for the day. Before we could begin working on our respective activity, we were enthralled by a guest lecturer who was an architect. He put forward some great ideas some of which surprised us and made us think about our way of life.

We then had our mock press conference in which we were given four different situations and we had to prepare for what outcome we would devise. It was a lot of fun as we had fun with learning. It was so educational to learn about how people of higher authorities manage their respective posts. 

We were then dispersed and each of us went our way. A few of my friends and I first went to a European bakery so our german friends could taste the deserts. We then went to GVK one mall where we ended up meeting all of our friends. I then took my buddy to the temple that fascinated her and what she claimed was the best part of what she had seen in hyderabad till now. The carvings was what she liked she said. 

We then went for dinner with most of our german group to The Waterfront, a beautiful place by the water.  We ended up having a long day but a fun one. We went to sleep waiting for the next day to come.
-Palak Agarwal

Day 2!

The second day of the Indo-German Exchange Programme was a day filled with activities. It started out with an introductive assembly at our Nasr School. The Nasr girls sang two songs, one to welcome the Germans and the second was half german and half english. One of us also gave a speech on german to make our friends feel more at home. After this we had the privilege to take our respective buddies around our school campus and show them the various kinds of classes thay we take. We took them everywhere from our classrooms to our laboratories.

We then had an activity time with our student counsellor, Mrs. Zenobia. She took out the time to make us play alll sorts of games for us to interact and get to know each other better. It was a fun-filled morning.

We then had lunch and boarded our buses to go to Qutub Shahi Tombs, a place of great importance to Hyderabad history. A tour guide explained to us the story behind each structure and our german friends were quite fascinated. 

We then headed to Golconda Fort and climbed 380 steps to reach the top of the fort that was an important landmark for Hyderabad. A tour guide again explained to us the various features of the fort. Our german friends took a lot of pictures and were quite surprised with its acoustical specialities. 

We then headed home, tired and ready to sleep waiting for the next day to arrive.
-Alefiya Hassonjee

First Day

The day it all begins! Finally after waiting for so long the day had arrived. I don't think any of us slept the previous night. Excitement filled the air and as all of us began to arrive it began to course through us! We could wait no longer! Where were they?! Everything was checked and cross checked again. All that was left to do was for the buddies and their teachers to walk out of that exit. As time flew we began to hate that exit as there were neither buddies nor teachers walking out of there. I think a couple of girls even wanted to walk in and drag the buddies out. Some of us were even contemplating having breakfast and then returning, but the thought of not seeing them arrive horrified us and we stayed there, rooted to the spot. Every now and then a shout of 'they're coming' would have us all rushing to our places and when they didn't come, disappointed hearts flooded the scene. Suddenly, there was one of the teachers right there in front of us! This is it! Here they come! And sure enough! 15-20 minutes later, there they were! FINALLY! ^_^. All at once there were several people around, hugging, laughing, talking! Parents were introduced and buddies were introduced, it was all a happy little chaos. It was worth the wait :) Of course immediately everyone wanted to leave to have their own buddy time, but not without a customary picture of course :D
-Aapeksha Pingali