Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell

.V* Lowtll. .Iprtl I!. I9SS
FUTURE,
dtntt Yoml AgnbUdc and Lonoa Gim an
Foreign exchange students
share experiences
ByDwfdHiut
U you think your Khedufc u
overtoiled, Inujinc -f to IS
classes a day. or picture youneir
with physics. ctumisDy. geometry,
and tlgebn umoltantously as a
freshman.
ITichancc rodents at Lowell from
Switzerland, Nigeria, and Mexico
are finding the United States
academically less challenging than
they had expected, hot this h
balanced bj the mow* »horfc from
the dbpaitr) of the oppning
cultures.
"In Switzerland itudents don't
distinguish between algebra and
geometry. In*w*d • gracta! m*lh
course • **hkh include both Is
taught. A% far as toreiga language U
conccrnci. raott Udi take three
languages," explained Janai
Lavrich. who attended an intcrav
Uooal Kbool in Geneva.
"In Nigeria you imut pau seven
of yoir fifteen clauci or repeat the
gndu. Each student is ranked
acadca ically so you have incentive
to do well. Plus parents become
strict If their children aren't in the
top ten of their clau " described
Yctni Agunbiadc. who a flueat in
hit native language of Yorruba a>
well as in English.
Parents in foreign axmtric* are
regarded by their children in a more
traditional seme in ihat obedience U
expected and disrespect is unheard
or.
"Since kids live longer at home
, and parents support them
throughout high school without asking
them to get a job, children owe
their ptreou and must pay then by
respecting their dediiom," stated
Lorcna Guu. a native of Mexico
. City.
"The crime rate and violence in
- Switzerland b so Iw that parents
; are more trusting of their kkli.
Parents are lenicct and. in turn.
BALZER/
SHQPES
become good friend* with thci.'
childrcn and aren't thought of as
authority figures. I think, because of
this, kids fn the United States grow
up fatter, but in Switzerland kids
mature faster, emphasized Lavrich.
Trs United States may not provide
a complete education, but it can
pride itself on being flm in muiic
and fashion trends.
"People are alway* trvjnj (O imitatc
the U.S. and Europe in fashkm.
yet always seem to be two to three
months behind. The clothes end up
looking faudy anyway." said Gu*s.
"In Nigeria, if >ou MUI umcune
In know you «e rich, you Urc*» ev
pensively, btii otherwise no one
dresses to be identified as a certain
group," related Agunbtade.
Heavy Metal, the preferred muik
of Switzerland and Mexico, with its
mundane and non-thought provoking
lyrics that play upon the temei
and not the mind. i. analogous to the
stance that teenagers take on tuues
like rboition. nuclear war, world
hunger, and drug addiction.
"I'm happy the government hi*
realized the extent of heroin addiction
by putting fluorescent lights in
public bathrooms K> people can't
see their veins and think twice about
shooting up," exclaimed Lavrich.
"With all the tchoolwork and the
extra competition in tports like soccer,
tennis, and track and field, kidv
ha« no time to discus important
iuues," added Agunbude.
Despite the diffcjencts. all three
exchattge student* enjoy the chant*
of pace and are eager to travel more.
Expand your horizons ...
...study abroad!
By Betsy Mrrzenkit
Ha* it ever been one of your
secret desires to spend time in k
foreign country without your
parents?
With a visit to the VICCI Center
(Room US), a student can get
available information about foreign
exchange programs.
The moil popular foreign exchange
programs, according to
VICCI volunteer Patricia Brown,
are the ones to Europe.
While the majority of students
choote to go to France. Germany,
Spain, and Italy. ££re are projraim
whkh send S^dcnts to everywhere
from Iceland to Nepal to Zimbabwe.
Brown staled that there are many
good opportunities to go to oner
countries, but that the costs for participation
in many of the program*
it a big drawback. However, finaiv
cial atd for almost alt of them i\
available to those who qualify.
But why would a student want to
go on an exchange to another
?
PARKS1DE FLORIST
Junior Dean Poulakidn went on *
trip to Spain with a group from
AIYSEP. He said. "I went because
when I started Uldng Spanish, I
became interested in the Spanish
culture, and I wanted to go
somewhere to learn about Ur
culture ard further my language
skills." *
however, there were unfortunate
flawt in the prof ram."
Ardei.on explained that they,
were supposed to leach the Mexkfs
people tn g^inr 1 '! themsclver more
sanitarily, in part by bulMu* public
Urines, but die supplies for the
building did not arrive tta£.\ihrec
"There are programs which send
students to everywJiere from Iceland
to Nepal to Zimbabwe. **
"1 wish that every language student
wouh' have the chance in go
(on an exchange program). I
remember sot.* students coming
back from a ooe-nrjotit erxhaege
program in Mexico absolutely
ffcxnt. You cinoot conceive now
much you can learn from that kind
of experience," said foreign
language teacher Sara Trclaun.
"You cannot conceive how much
you can learn from that kind of
experience."
"Living for a long period of time
la another country can help one
realize that what one thought was
natural U often cultural. In the proecu
of learning ••> ice and to
understand a new homc-away-frcn*homc.
the exchange tfudent can gain
greater '(Might into cultural differences
>>3d •imilariticj. thai uk*
i»g a Hep towards the global
perspective so needed in an interdependent
world," explains the
Intcrnation Youth Eichange
Junior Eva Festa travelled to
J*V«n with a Yotuh for Undemanding
(YFU) program with absolutely
no knowledge ot' the Japanese
culture, except possibly what she
had learned *f sushi bars. She
remembers the first weeks were
very difficult because of the overwhelming
language Ktrrier, but she
was glad for the experience. "The
experience gave nw a deep ajv
prtciation of culture. It gave me a
deeper insight into what is going oq
in ihc rest of the world, which
somehow gave me a better
unoer«tanding of my own culture,"
she said.
YFU is ju>t one of many of the
program* avuitablc. Another Mich
program it American International
Youth Student Exchange Program
IAIYSEP).
MIS) U1-JJ04
Ml TAB AVAL (B«tw««n 111* A, lQ\n Avtm*tt)
f LORAL ARRANGCMtNTS fOR ALL OCCAS.OHS
MIQUEL1ANTOS Order BUNNI 8CNEOICK
LEARN CANTONESE
MON. - FR1. 4-5:30 P.M.
ARGONNE CHINESE SCHOOL
675- 17lbA-cscc
SmFnadico,CAWI21
751-6717
Some exchange programs, mcb a*
Awigoi de bts Amend*, xiv
deigned for the exchange Mudcnu
m help the people of the courtr)
which they visit. OK pamphlet
ai'vcnuing ,'j-niftn claim* '-ul it i\
dc«piKd "...to work to ^i«
•vKviantiing young Amcfic-n^ on
t>ppnnunity to make a tcriou* contribution
10 the human developnxnt
anj health of penok in need."
Senior Erir. Andcrvm travellcU ti>
rural Mexico with Amiem during
the summer of 1984. She noted. "It
«» 4 good experience 10 see wfcu
li in poverty wu really like;
»«la after the students did.
She «Ucd. "The Uea was that we
were gor;£ ilown there u> help
them, hut it really helped us more
became we learned so much from
liviif with them. LU'iifg without
enough water and ether coovcot