For 12-year-old Dhivjit Koppuravuri, the visit to Japan was a learning experience on all fronts. “There is a similarity in the culture between India and Japan, such as respecting the elders and extending hospitality to the guests, but we still have lots to learn from them when it comes to discipline, punctuality, patriotism and cleanliness and hygiene,” said the 12-year-old.
A student of Std. VII of Timpany Senior Secondary School, he was the only boy from the city among the six selected from India, as junior ambassadors, to represent the country at the 28th Asia Pacific Children Convention held at Fukuoka in Japan from July 10 to 23. The cultural exchange programme was part of the Junior Chamber International annual exchange programme.
Interacting with The Hindu on his return from the cultural exchange programme, young Dhivjit who dreams to become a scientist and work on how to reduce the impact of natural calamities, said, “The best part of my tour was staying with a host family. That gave me ample time to talk about our culture and know their way of living. It appeared that the tenets of self-discipline and punctuality are embedded into them right from childhood. If a programme was to start at 8 a.m., everybody including the chief guest will be in their seats by 7.50 and the programme will start sharp on the dot. If a speaker is to speak for four minutes, he or she will end her talk by 3.55 minutes. This aspect, really turned me on,” he said.
Another aspect that touched the young mind was cleanliness. “I did not find one single speck of paper; forget ice cream cups, at any of the parks that I visited. The country is clean and they work hard to keep it that way,” he said.
Dhivjit was also highly impressed by the school education system. “They follow a unique method. The day begins with a physical training session and once energised the classroom session begins. There are no smart boards and the entire teaching is a blend of personal interaction with audio-visual aids. Every classroom is an e-classroom and e-learning is a must. And most importantly, the teaching is activity based right from the lower classes,” said Dhivjit.
Proud moment
On his cultural exchange he said it was one of the proudest moments in the entire tour. “Our team from India gave an overview of our festivals. We showcased how festivals such as Eid, Diwali and Holi are celebrated,” he said. “For one week we were kept in a hostel, where we had the time to interact with students from other countries and for one week we stayed with the respective host families,” he said.
