Indians have always treated the westerners well, and the students from Germany were no exception. From extending a warm welcome to pampering them, the 21 German nationals who are here in Coimbatore, as part of a Culture Exchange Programme, were surprised and very impressed by the way they are treated.

“I came here with a lot of preconceived notions about this country. But this trip has changed all that, and I’m so happy to be here,” said Inken Maria Pollman.

A Bachelor degree student of Governance and Public Police with a German University, Pollman also admitted that they felt strange when they received help from people here with an open mind.

“The Germans are very conservative and they do not easily offer help. But here it is very different and people are keen on helping you,” added Constantin Scheibenberger, a student of business administration.

Showing likeness over the bonding in Indian families, Melissa Hellebrandt, a student of journalism shared how she was touched to see family members at home for lunch.

“In Germany, we get together only during Christmas holidays or other such occasions. But here, people eat all their meals with at least one member of the family, or the entire family. This type of bonding does not exist in Germany,” said Hellebrandt.

Johannes Rainer Newald, a student of economics, said that he was going to take back the warm welcome given to him here to the people in his country. “I want to give my people the kind of welcome I got here. It is a good practice,” Newald opined.

A total of 19 students, along with 2 faculties from various universities, are in the city for the last six days, as a part of the Culture Exchange Programme.

The students also visited the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation on Wednesday, and were told of the various aspects and functioning of the corporation by Mayor P. Rajkumar and Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan.

They interacted with the officials about the Smart City proposals and other developments, and also visited various cultural centres in the city. They are being hosted by the PSG Group of Institutions.

Various lectures and interactive sessions were also conducted between the visiting students and the industrialists of Coimbatore. The visitors also participated in joint projects along with the students of the PSG institutions.