It's not quite like Freaky Friday, but Thomas Worthington High School science teacher Jason Cervenec soon will step into the shoes of Vatsala Kaul, teaching her students in India while she teaches his students at Thomas.

The teachers agreed to participate in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program, designed to enhance culture and educational understanding between the United States and other countries.

Cervenec said he'll be at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai from the middle of August until January.

He met with Kaul in Washington, D.C., recently and is helping to introduce her to the routines at Thomas this week. He'll soon fly to New Delhi for an orientation.

"I learned about the Fulbright program in my first few years of teaching at a professional conference," he said. "Having spent some time in Europe and having family from another country taught me that learning from other cultures is important.

"I did not want to wait until I retired to see other parts of the world," he said.

Kaul said the Fulbright program "is held in high esteem amongst the teaching fraternity" in her country.

"Becoming a part of this prestigious program is the aspiration of a lot of teachers in India," she said. "Personally, I like to challenge myself and this was like putting myself to a test to see that I would be able to teach whatever the circumstances."

Cervenec said education in the United States often is compared to education overseas, "but we have little time as teachers to understand the systems with which we are compared."

"I will be able to see what education in India looks like firsthand," he said. "I hope to make lifelong friends and professional connections and learn about a country with one-sixth of the world population. As a plus, I will get to eat a lot of different foods."

Kaul said she hopes to help Thomas Worthington students understand the culture and diversity her country represents.

"I would like to be able to bring to the students I teach a new perspective of education and help them understand what standards of education are like in my country," she said. "I am looking forward to understanding the education system in the U.S. and sharing in their culture, especially the culture in Ohio."

Cervenec said he hopes to present his experiences overseas to the community in an evening program after he comes back to Worthington.

"The benefit of the program is that my colleagues in Worthington will get to learn from Vatsala while I am gone," he said. "Sharing of culture and ideas happens at both host schools."

He said he is working on setting up a blog to post photos and information while he is in India.

Cervenec said he and Vatsala e-mailed back and forth before they met in person, and he read two books on Indian culture and history.

"Family and friends have also put me in touch with individuals who have either lived in India or visited there to provide additional insight," he said.

Kaul said she knows the teaching assignment will be an interesting challenge.

"Teaching across cross-cultural boundaries like this is very intimidating, but it is reassuring to know that people across the globe are warm and so welcoming, making this challenge less intimidating," she said.

"I am really looking forward to interacting with colleagues and the community to develop an understanding."