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When in Japan…
It may be the healthiest cuisine in the world but for the students who embarked on a maiden trip to Japan as a part of cultural exchange programme the culinary fare proved to be a challenge for the palate. Instead of experimenting with sushi or sashimi, they decided to stick by a more familiar Indian alternative. “We ate cornflakes for breakfast and had naan, rice and roti for lunch and dinner,” said Jawahar Pankaj a student of Durga Higher
Secondary School. He was one among a group of high school students selected from across the State to take part in a 10-day programme organised by the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths. Pankaj along with his team mates Architha Kumar, of St. Theresa’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Kannur, Chitra P. George of St. Joseph’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode and Roshan R. Prabhu of St. Michaels Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Kannur; were back in ‘God’s own country’ last week gushing with anecdotal experiences from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun.’
For some like Architha, the realisation that her exhilarating trip to Japan came to an end dawned when they went to wash their hands after touching down in Thiruvananthapuram. “I placed my hands under the tap expecting the water to flow automatically,” said Architha recalling the sensor-driven faucet widely used in Japan. “It was then I realised that I was back in Kerala,” she said. The Japanese are so obsessed with technology that even their toilets are automatic, Architha said. “The gadget for ironing our clothes inside our hotel room looked so high-tech that we had to seek the assistance of our Japanese guides,” she said. But what struck the students most was the ingrained sense of cleanliness and concern for the environment among the Japanese. “All the waste they generate is recycled and turned into electricity,” said Chitra, who was taken in by their level of hygiene, said. The cultural exchange programme also provided an opportunity for the students to experience the diversity of the country at close quarters. With a total of 54 students from 28 States, the group reflected a cross-section of the country. The candidates were selected by the Ministry of Human Resource Development based on their performance in academic and extra-curricular activities from a short-list submitted by the Education Department of the respective States.
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