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New Delhi, June 28, 2025 (ANI): A ten-member delegation from Montana—comprising seven high school students and three chaperones affiliated with the World Affairs Council of Montana—is currently on a study visit to India.
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00:00There's a competition which was taken and you took part in it and you have been selected and now you are in India.
00:06What is that competition if you can brief us on?
00:07Well, here's the fun part is that I actually wasn't in the competition but I created the competition.
00:15So we have a group of students that are with us today and they actually participated in two competitions.
00:21And the first one is called EconoQuest and that takes place in October.
00:25And it's an economics conference that connects the home state of Montana to the rest of the world.
00:31And this year our country of focus was India.
00:35And so we were very, very fortunate to have Consul General Gupta of the Indian Consulate in Seattle join us.
00:43And he was very impressed with this year's winners who presented a project on semiconductors and the partnership between Montana and India.
00:53And the second competition is a three-day global affairs competition called Academic World Quest.
01:01And we had four boys from Missoula, Montana that won that competition.
01:06And that's a quiz format, 100-question quiz.
01:11And India, again, was one of our countries of focus.
01:14And so they had to learn all about India and become proficient in answering questions.
01:20And so that was part of how they ended up on this trip.
01:24If I may ask you about your India experience, can you just brief us about it?
01:29Oh, my goodness.
01:29Well, first of all, I have to thank our hosts.
01:33And at KIT and KISS University, especially founder Sawada, Dr. Sawada, this trip would not be possible without them
01:41or without the Consul General of Seattle, Consul General Gupta.
01:45And so first off, thank you very much to everybody for putting this on.
01:51And so far, we have had such an incredible experience.
01:54We have been welcomed with open arms, with lots of love, with delicious food and friendship.
02:02We got a tour of the city today.
02:04We went and saw the Red Fort, as well as the Parliament, and drove around the city.
02:10And we could not have asked for a nicer reception.
02:13Tomorrow, we get to go to the Taj Mahal.
02:16And after that, we'll be going to Bhubadeshwar to visit KIT and KISS Universities,
02:20and then Lucknow to CMS Lucknow.
02:24Interestingly, you touched upon the cuisine.
02:26Well, so the butter chicken was amazing.
02:31The tandoori chicken was incredible.
02:33Also, a tandoori fish, delicious.
02:37The dal, beautiful.
02:40We also had, hmm, I don't even know what it was.
02:44But it was, it had rose, there was rose water, and it was sweet and delicious.
02:49It's, it's really all five senses that are just engaged, and so, so incredibly lucky.
02:57So if I may ask you, like, what do you hope to learn or take away from your experience in India?
03:01How it can help you in performance?
03:04Oh, goodness.
03:05Well, at heart, I'm an educator, and I'm a teacher.
03:09And so I really try to teach the students that I work with about curiosity
03:15and being curious about different cultures, about different people, different places.
03:21And I feel like this is an opportunity, unlike anything else, to give that to these students.
03:28And, well, I hope to have a little, too.
03:33Yes, this is my first time, and it has been so incredible.
03:36This is our first full day here.
03:37We landed at, like, 2 a.m.
03:40So definitely very fast and furious, but it's been so incredible so far.
03:45So how did you, how did you, uh, appear in India?
03:48You took part in the, in the competition, I believe.
03:50If you can describe what that place.
03:52Yeah, so me and my two friends, Emily and Izzy, are in our World Affairs Club,
03:57and we did a Conquest this year, which happened near the end of October,
04:01where we had to make a presentation on an industry in Montana
04:05and how it connects to, um, area of focus.
04:08So the area this year was ASEAN in India, and we picked India
04:12because we found that there were a lot of really cool and quickly growing connections
04:16between Montana and India, especially in, like, the tech sector
04:19and also in the agriculture sector and education sector.
04:22It was so cool to see all of these connections that I hadn't really considered before
04:27or knew that they existed.
04:30Um, and especially cool to see how fast India is growing in them.
04:33Um, I know one of the things that we picked up on was India's really high young population,
04:38um, and it's something that I've seen even just walking around,
04:41how many, how different the faces are from, like, back home,
04:46where usually we see a lot of older folks, but here there's so many, like, kids close to our age.
04:51It's been really interesting to just kind of pick up on some stuff
04:54that we saw in our research that we're now getting to see with our own eyes.
04:57So what kind of expectations do you have on this visit, if I may ask?
05:01Yeah, um, truly, I was trying to, I wasn't sure what to expect.
05:07I have never been, like, this far from home,
05:10and so it's been really, really exciting to be able to come to a place
05:14that's so wildly different from something that I'm used to.
05:16I think I've heard that it's going to be a lot, and so far that's been true,
05:22but in the best way possible.
05:23Like, so many people, so many flavors, so many colors.
05:27It's been so exciting to experience.
05:30Anything you have, you heard about the Indian culture,
05:32and any bucket list you have while coming to India?
05:35I'm really, really excited for the Taj Mahal.
05:37We get to go there tomorrow.
05:39That's been a bucket list since fourth grade.
05:41I did a project on it in school, and it stuck with me,
05:45so I'm so excited to get to see that.
05:47And then I'm also really excited to experience the culture
05:50and learn more about, like, the religion especially.
05:53I know we read Siddhartha in our World Light class this year,
05:56and it felt very well-timed with this trip because I really enjoyed that book,
06:01and I'm really looking forward to talking to people
06:03and getting to learn more about how people live their lives.
06:07This is the last question.
06:09And how do you feel that this trip might impact your academic or personal growth,
06:12if I may pass?
06:13Yeah, I think it's always a good thing to be able to expand your horizons
06:17and to come into a place open-minded and take in these new experiences,
06:22not only just, like, the actual information that we're going to learn,
06:25but being able to push yourself out of your comfort zone
06:28and absorb new ideas and bring those stories back.
06:33I think India is a place that a lot of people in Montana and in the U.S.
06:37don't really have a clear idea about,
06:38and so being able to come back with all of these stories about our trip
06:42is going to be a really fun experience, I think,
06:45especially going into college.
06:46Thank you so much.
06:48Yes, I actually was not a part of the competition myself,
06:51but instead worked as a volunteer with Academic World Quest
06:54and through the Montana Chamber,
06:57and through that I worked a little bit with Consul General Gupta
07:03and Debudatta Dash,
07:05and through that I was able to come on this trip.
07:08If I may ask you, like, what are you most excited to see in India?
07:12I mean, what you've heard something about India,
07:14and if any places you're excited to see,
07:16if you can describe it.
07:17Well, there's so many.
07:18One thing I'm really interested in is the local flora and fauna,
07:21which is just so different from what we have in Montana.
07:24It has been so cool to see, like, parrots and peacocks.
07:27That was not something I was expecting,
07:29but something that was really cool.
07:30And then also just a lot of the, you know,
07:32the big places like the Taj Mahal is really exciting.
07:35It's, you know, one of the wonders.
07:37It's always something that I've wanted to see,
07:38so that's super exciting that we get to do that.
07:40And also I am so excited to go to Kit and Kiss
07:43and just kind of see how education differs in India,
07:47because I think, like, so many different aspects
07:49are different in the culture and the way of life here,
07:52and it'll just be so interesting to see that and observe that.
07:55Regarding the India culture, what have you heard before,
07:57and what are your expectations about us?
08:00Yeah, honestly, I have just heard one thing is, like,
08:05you will use all your senses while you are here,
08:07like, at all times, all five things,
08:09scent and view, and all the things will just be, like,
08:12crazy and overwhelming,
08:13and I think that is something that has proved true,
08:16but in the kind of the best way possible,
08:18which is really exciting.
08:19Yeah, and I'm just really excited to continue to see that
08:23and taste the foods and see the sights
08:24and all the good things.
08:25Have you tasted any food?
08:26Yes.
08:27Oh, it's so good.
08:29I really love buttered chicken.
08:32So the naan bread is just out of this world.
08:35Yeah, so many good things.
08:37What do you hope to learn or take away
08:39from this experience in India
08:40and how it can help you in the future as well?
08:42Yeah, well, I really just, throughout this,
08:47I feel I've already learned so much
08:48just about expectation versus reality,
08:51and kind of, like, going into India,
08:53I really did not have anything to expect,
08:55but I had these kind of preconceived notions
08:56just from, you know, what we learn in school
08:58or what we see from all the way over
09:01on the other side of the world,
09:03and I think that's really important just to know
09:04that not everything is always exactly as it seems
09:07from media or just what you see on the outside.
09:09A lot of what I read and saw came from at,
09:14well, I was in that same world lit class
09:17that read Siddhartha,
09:18and that really made me feel connected
09:21because it was, like, the first experience
09:23with this, like, non-westernized version of religion
09:29where everything is so, like, one and together,
09:32and I really liked that.
09:35And then also during Academic World Quest this year,
09:38the Indian Council did a film festival
09:42with some Bollywood classics,
09:45and so that was, like, also my first introduction
09:47to what film is like in India,
09:50and there were lots...
09:52It was a lot.
09:54There were lots of sounds, lots of colors,
09:57and everything happening,
09:59and I, in my mind, couldn't, like,
10:02perceive a world that was like that,
10:04and then when we got here,
10:06it was, like, it was all real.
10:09Like, the same, like, flavors and smells
10:12and colors and lights just everywhere.
10:16You mentioned about the Bollywood.
10:17Yeah.
10:18Did you manage to see any movie
10:20or anything that you remember?
10:21The only one that I remember the name of
10:25was English Finglish.
10:27I think that one was my favorite.
10:28There was also one about these three guys
10:30that went on a road trip.
10:33That one was also really good.
10:35Right.
10:36So do you have any bucket list in mind
10:38regarding the cities you will be exploring?
10:40I'm really excited about the Taj Mahal,
10:43and also all of, like, luck now
10:46because we've been told
10:47that it's very, like, culturally rich
10:51and within, like, the culture and religion,
10:54and that's what I'm most interested in coming here
10:58is to learn about the differences in culture
11:01and how people perceive the world.
11:04Thanks.
11:05This was really the last question.
11:06How it can help you with the future of therapy,
11:09even the academic or a personal growth,
11:12if I may ask.
11:13So what would be your expectation
11:14and what would you like to take away from it?
11:16I think that just, like, differing,
11:19like, my worldview is not being so narrow-minded,
11:23like, just kind of opening up my horizons
11:25because I just graduated from high school
11:28and I'm going on to college
11:29to study international relations
11:31and comparative politics.
11:33So in a field like that,
11:35being able to understand the world
11:37and the lives of these people
11:39that are even, like, halfway across the world from me
11:43really helps in these fields
11:46to kind of understand
11:48not only, like, my own perspective,
11:50but the perspective of other people
11:52in these situations,
11:53especially within these, like, international relations.
11:57As a member of the Volunteer Board of Directors
12:00at Montana World Affairs Council,
12:02I helped the organization deliver on its mission
12:06to bring the world to Montana
12:08and Montana to the world.
12:10This opportunity to join nine young people
12:14who had never been to India before
12:16is really a dream come true.
12:19I've had the good fortune to visit India twice before.
12:23I've been eager to come back
12:25and coming back with this group of young people
12:27and seeing it through their eyes
12:29is very special.
12:30Since you're the experienced one,
12:33how has been your Indian experience
12:34that you can share with us?
12:36I've always found my time in India
12:39to be magical.
12:40The people are warm and wonderful.
12:44The sights, the sounds are so unique.
12:47There's no place like it on planet Earth.
12:49And to be in this place
12:54with so many warm and wonderful people,
12:57with an eager group of young people
12:59has made it just that much more special for me.
13:03Talking about your Indian experience as well,
13:05there's a part of it is also the culinary side of the culture.
13:11Did you manage to eat Indian food as well?
13:13And how do you rate that?
13:14Well, there are so many wonderful things
13:16about living in Montana in the United States.
13:19It's beautiful, it's rural,
13:21there are many open spaces,
13:23but we do not have good Indian food.
13:27So for someone like me
13:29who loves to eat good food,
13:31to be in Delhi,
13:32to be sampling some of the finest Indian dishes
13:35for breakfast, lunch,
13:37and again for dinner,
13:38is a real treat.
13:40My stomach is very happy right now.
13:42Anything in favourites, if you have,
13:45if you want to spill these, please?
13:46Oh, the traditional Indian breads
13:49are always so wonderful.
13:51The naan and the roti
13:53are perfect in the way that they're prepared.
13:56The clay oven baked dishes
14:01are always wonderful.
14:03And to my surprise,
14:05the fish that we've had so far
14:07has been just perfectly prepared
14:09and extremely delicious.
14:11Talking about the relationship
14:12between the two countries is very important.
14:14What's your take in this regard?
14:16How do you look at the contemporary relationship as well?
14:18And how do you like to take this thing forward?
14:21You know, the world seems to be getting
14:24smaller and smaller all the time.
14:27But it also, in many ways,
14:29seems to be getting more complex,
14:31more interconnected.
14:33And for a delegation from America
14:36to be in India working so closely
14:39with ministers and other leaders,
14:42for those from India
14:44to be getting to know us as Americans
14:46feels really important at this moment in time.
14:51And we feel honoured
14:54by the warm welcome we've received
14:57and very grateful.
14:59I think while we're here,
15:01we want to make sure
15:02that we're trying to give back to India
15:03in the ways it's giving to us.
15:06What's going to be your itinerary
15:07on this visit?
15:09And also, how do you feel
15:11this trip might impact
15:12the personal growth
15:13or economic growth in future as well?
15:15Because both the countries
15:17are quite intertwined in that way.
15:18So we're spending
15:20just our first couple of days
15:22and then our last day here in Delhi.
15:25We're spending the majority of our time
15:27in Bhubaneshwar
15:28and then in Lucknow.
15:31Lucknow?
15:32Is that right?
15:32Lucknow?
15:33I'm visiting with university students,
15:37university faculty,
15:39and then younger students
15:40at the Montessori Academy in Lucknow.
15:45And I think it's going to be important
15:47for our young delegation
15:48to spend some time
15:49with their peers,
15:51for young people around the world
15:53to get to know one another
15:55and to learn firsthand
15:56that there is more that unites us
15:59than makes us different.
16:00There's more that makes us similar
16:02than divides us.
16:04Feels very special at a time like this
16:07in global history.
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