“We missed Indian food in Germany. The family bond was missing among Germans but they are punctual and disciplined,” said the eight-member team which toured Germany on an Indo-German humanist youth exchange programme.
The team members – Y. Yamini, Monica Jain, Pragnya, Niranjana Chater, T. Narayana Rao, Satyanarayana and G. Jagadeep headed by Dr. Olas Gora – attended workshop on ‘Education Pattern, Problems and Solution’.
They visited Berlin, Brandenburg and other places and interacted with the Parliament members, mayors and intellectuals and took a close look at the education system, technology, lifestyle, food habits and their traditions during the 15-day sojourn.
“This was my first trip abroad. We visited schools and colleges and observed their education system, which is very impressive. The support for education from the government is good, which we don’t have in India,” said Monica, a B. Pharmacy student told The Hindu on Saturday, and thanked the Atheist Centre for arranging the programme.
“In India family relationship is strong and it plays a pivotal role in shaping the very living of a human being, which was not there in Germany. After attaining 15 years the children are left to fend for themselves. I stayed with a family for a couple of days in a village, which is 60 kms away from Berlin, and they treated me well. They served bread, pork and cheese and we missed Indian food,” said Narayana Rao, who is pursuing final year engineering.
The team with the help of German-based Humanist Free Thinkers Association, visited concentration camps, drug addiction centre, a few education institutions, motivation camps and enjoyed site seeing during their visit, said team head Olas.
“We observed Germans using wind and solar energy. They are caring towards nature and are systematic while following traffic rules and safety norms,” says Yamini and Pragnya.
