On February 18, 2009, a new connection was set in place as a group of 9 girls and 2 boys accompanied by exchange coordinator Mr.Olivier Auvray and English teacher Mr.Jacques touched the Indian soil to dwell on it for the next fifteen days. It was the first French delegation to come to Mayo College under the exchange program started by French teacher Mr.Kunal Kumar.

This delegation had come from Elbeuf sur Seine, France. On the very first day, the French group was received by Deputy Councellor, Mr.Alain Rechner, Mr.Pierre Koert & Ms.Anne Inal, Attache` for Co-operation in Education, for tea at the French Culture Centre, New Delhi. This function was also attended by the Principal, Mr.Pramod Sharma.

After visiting various historical places in Delhi and Agra for two days, the group arrived at Mayo College on February 20, 2009. The next week was spent in acclimatizing to the scorching Indian weather and adjusting to the Mayo life. For better correspondence with India, the French delegation attended Hindi, Geography, History and various other classes with the Mayoites. The French students also joined us for music, art and yoga classes!

We accompanied them on several day trips. They visited Pushkar, Tilonia, Kishangarh & Jaipur. They visited the Deaf & Dumb school in Ajmer and donated some money for the betterment of the school. At Kishangarh, they visited one of the world’s best marble factories. At Tilonia, the delegation saw and bought traditional handicrafts, garments, leather products, etc. Also, they went to Pushkar to see the Brahma temple and shop in the market. Later in the evening they saw an Odissi dance performance by an American dancer Paulina and others at Pushkar. Towards the end of the day the delegation went to ‘Swad ki Dhanni’ (a restaurant where traditional Rajasthani food & culture prevails).

On the March 04, the French students put up a folk show at the MCGS with the help of some girls. At the beginning, it was an Indo-French orchestra followed by two dances performed by the delegates and the MCGS. This was followed by their mini-band and the MCGS band performing respectively.

Before we knew, it was time for them to go, but, instead of saying bye, we chose to say ‘A bientot’ which means: see you soon (as we see them again in May in France). All this truly proved to be a mixture of cultures. This exchange has made "friends for life" as said by Mr. Olivier Auvray. It was a truly fruitful experience and we are thankful for the same.