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At a boarding school tucked away on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, young students from all over the world say living with people from completely different backgrounds has broadened their perspective on life.
The Devi International Boarding School opened in the small community of Mill Village near Liverpool in 2017 with 24 students. That number has grown to 63 this year with students coming from countries such as China, France, Mexico, Ukraine and the United States.
“It helps me learn that there’s a lot I need to learn about the world,” said Anand Divecha, 12, who’s from Michigan.
The students say spending time together, trying new cuisines and learning about each other’s traditions and languages has given them an appreciation for not only what makes them different from each other but what they have in common.
Some said they’re making connections with classmates from different countries by learning to say “goodnight” in everyone’s native language.
“We’re all sharing together no matter where we’re coming from,” said Mary Kuhn, the school’s director. “They’ve become very open-minded.”
Cellphones only allowed 1 day a week
The non-profit school is for middle and high school students, who are taught the Nova Scotia curriculum integrated with Sahaja yoga meditation.
Many of the students come from families who already practise the form of spiritual meditation, Kuhn said.
Students meditate in the mornings and evenings, she said, and play games outside and explore their natural surroundings along the Medway River in their free time.
Classes are at an old refurbished schoolhouse that’s approximately a 10-minute walk down the road from their cottage-like dorms.
One of the school’s rules limits students’ access to their cellphones to one day a week.
Taking away cellphones allows them to be present in the moment, build connections with those around them and not be negatively influenced by trends on the internet, Kuhn said.
“They know that they’re not going to be feeling that pressure from social media because they don’t have their phone all the time.”
The cellphone rule doesn’t seem to be a deal-breaker for some of the young students who knew what they were signing up for.
“My brother went here and he came back and he told me all these really fun stories,” said 11-year-old Daniya Ghorpade, who has lived all over the world.
“I was really excited to try something so different,” she said.
Some students said they were looking for a chance to meet new people and build special bonds.
“I came here because you’re always around people. I’m a very social person,” said Pragya Krimmer, 12, who is from Dubai.
“It’s a good place to be,” she said.
Nova Scotia living up to the hype
Many of the students say they’ve quickly fallen in love with Nova Scotia during their time here.
“I’ve watched videos of this place and pictures and they’re really nice and I really wanted to come here,” said Hanuman Jalladeau, who’s from Germany.
The area has lived up to the hype and there are many things to love about it, said Jalladeau.
“The nature and the people here are really nice,” he said.
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