On 5 June Vidhi Soni (Form II), Georgia Goeller (Form III), Olivia Krige (Form III) and Olivia Hadiaris (Form II) flew out to Dubai then to India, we started with a visit to Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. This part of the exchange was extremely exciting, hot, beautiful and memorable. We visited many historical sites including the famous Taj Mahal. We met people we would never forget such as our tour guide, Mr G. We had an incredible relationship with Mr G and became great friends with him. We were invited to have lunch with him and his family at his house.

The tour was an absolute highlight as we experienced many things of which we could never have dreamed! We experienced the wonderful culture of India and its beauty. We also had much fun experiencing new things such as a delicious bottomless dinner in a traditional Rajastani village and camel rides. India is absolutely stunning and being able to tour around three of its most beautiful cities was one of the biggest highlights.

After a week, the tour came to an end. We went on the train to Chandigarh, then we drove up to Shimla to get to Auckland House School. The weather is much cooler in Shimla and we enjoyed the 20°temperature, rather than the 40° heat we had experienced over the last week. At Auckland House, we met the head girl, Avni and became good friends with her and many others in our class. We also met the principal, Ma’am John and our teacher, Pallavi Ma’am.

The food in India is delicious, Pallavi Ma’am took all four of us out for lunch on one day where we had a long-awaited break from curries and spicy food.

Auckland House has a beautiful view, especially during the chapel service after dinner, where the sun sets right over the mountains. We loved to gaze at the beautiful mountain, filled with views at different times of the day.

Our time at Auckland House School was really special and we participated in many activities. The French house day was our greatest highlight, a day filled with dance, plays, music numbers and so much more! It was planned by the house teachers and students. We danced away on the stage to a song mix of a traditional Nati dance, and one of South Africa’s most beloved songs, Jerusalema.

As the exchange ended we were showered with gifts from our beloved friends that we made over the weeks; they were honestly the highlight of this trip and we will never forget them. Saying goodbye and leaving Auckland was extremely sad and we all did not want it to end. We miss all our friends that we made, and we will never forget them or this magnificent opportunity we were given. We are ever so grateful to have had this experience and we had the most wonderful time of our lives.

OLIVIA HADIARIS AND VIDHI SONI
FORM II