New Delhi students enjoy best of Whanganui
WELCOME: Mayor Hamish McDouall welcomed visitors Prabha Ravi (left), WHS principal Martin McAllen, Samiksha Budhiraja, Suhani Arora, Aishwarya Anand, Mahek Shekhar, WHS director of International students Alexandra Ferreti, deputy principal Shalini Jain, Kartikeyan Malhotra, Yugansh Pawah and Sanyam Budhiraja.
PHOTO: Stuart Munro.
Seven students from the Indian capital city of New Delhi met Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall in council chambers on Friday.
The mayor welcomed the high school students to the city and said Whanganui has a small but very active Indian community.
"We want to make it bigger and grow the connection," he said.
"We have a sister school in China and two in Japan so we welcome this releationship with a school in India."
The year 10 students, aged 13 and 14 are the first representatives from their country to participate in an international exchange at Whanganui High School.
Indraprashtha International School responded to an invitation from Prabha Ravi, Wellington-based director of international education for YMCA.
"I visited the school and talked to the students about the summer programme to study abroad," she said.
Indraprashtha School deputy principal Shalina Jain has accompanied the students to Whanganui for her own first trip to New Zealand.
"The school board and parents were very impressed with Prabha's presentation and the students are loving it here," she said.
Whanganui High School's international director, Alexandra Ferreti said the visitng students have joined year 10 classes during the week and they staying with some of the school's homestay families.
"They have been fitting in really well and they have been doing a number of art and drama activities outside class hours," she said.
The students have also been out and about in the region and Sanyam Budhiraja said he enjoyed a trip to Mt Ruapehu on Thursday.
"It's a very beautiful mountain," he said and his fellow travellers agreed describing the region in glowing terms.
They used words like awesome, perfect, lovely in their descriptions and Kartikeyan Malhotra said Whanganui is "delicious."
Kiwi food has met with their approval as well and Yugansh Pawah said he has enjoyed tasting hokey pokey for the first time.
Mr McDouall presented the visitors with gift bags and Mrs Jain had also brought gifts from India for the mayor.
The students will spend another week in Whanganui and Mrs Ravi said it will provide opportunity for them to decide if they might like to return for later high school study or tertiary education.
By Liz Wylie
Wanganui Chronicle 27/5/17