The New Straits Times :: Sunday April 22, 2007

(From left) Amir, Norzihan and Juárez established a bond during the Mexican boy’s stay in Malaysia.

EMILIO Juárez, 12, from Cenca Primary School in Toluca, Mexico, was not looking forward to going home after his three-week stay in Malaysia.

The pupil, who had been staying with a host family under the Sri Kuala Lumpur exchange programme, said he had experienced much during this time.
“I had a good stay here; my family here is good to me. I learnt some Malay words and tried Malay food; and my family here also had Mexican food,” he says.

Sri KL primary school deputy principal Johnson Ngoo, who oversees the programme, says the school has been a part of it since 2000. The exchange programme is under the International School-to-School Experience (ISSE), an international programme for elementary schools that provides for the exchange of thoughts and ideas through face-to-face contact with children from other countries around the world.

At the age of 11 or 12, children are old enough to appreciate the experience and yet young enough to be relatively free from prejudice. Ngoo says the programme is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn about other cultures and a good way of improving their interpersonal skills.

The exchange students visit classes at each educational level to talk about who they are and where they are from, participate in school activities and get a chance to experience local culture through ISSE activities or their host families.

Norzihan Haidar Khan, Juárez’s host mother, says she got involved because her eldest son, Amir Razhan Merican, wanted to host an exchange student this year.

She adds that it is also good exposure for her children, who learnt about another culture through their interaction with others. Communicating with Juárez’s mother through phone and the Internet also means that both families bond, which will make Amir’s visit to Mexico under the programme later this year easier.

The experience has been so rewarding for Norzihan’s family that she wants to do it again.