With the Chinese exchange program in its second year, trips to Italy and France join the school’s global studies offerings.
By CATHERINE CLARY
News editor
From April 11 to April 25, eighteen students from the Victor DuRuy School in Paris will visit Los Angeles and stay with Poly students.
The students will come to classes at Poly for one day. During the rest of the time, they will visit attractions in the Los Angeles area. After the day trips, the students will reconvene with their host families in the afternoon.
As a part of the global studies program, the offering aims to immerse students in the culture of a different region. Trip organizer Ann Diederich said, “I think that the goal is for both parties to get a taste of what school and family life is like in each others’ countries.” She also stressed the importance of the friendship students make with their host students: “[the purpose is] to forge long lasting friendships with students across the Atlantic.”
Poly student hosts have been given profiles of the visiting students in order to learn more about them before meeting them in person, and in addition, many have also conversed through email with their exchange student.
From May 29 to June 19, 18 Poly students will travel to Paris along with language teachers Diederich, Armele Webster, and Elaine Mair. In order to participate, Poly students have to be in level four or five of French, Spanish or Latin and needed to have submitted an application this past fall. The application consisted of a letter to the prospective host family and a few paragraphs describing the student’s history with the French language and culture. According to Diederich, “We were looking for good ambassadors for Poly since it is the first year for the exchange and [we were looking for] their willingness to immerse themselves in French language and culture and try out their language skills.” After all of the applications were thoroughly reviewed, fourteen girls and four boys were chosen to participate in this program.
Junior Simone Sasse, who was selected to participate, explains her excitement at the opportunity: “I wanted to do this exchange for the opportunity to visit Paris and tour other parts of France. Also, I’m looking forward to spending time with a French family and learning about their way of life. Finally, I’m looking forward to conversing in French!”
The first two weeks of the trip to Paris will be a home-stay. The rest of this trip will be spent traveling through Normandy and Brittany.
Art teacher Allan Schaefer is beginning new another study-abroad program this year. Six girls and six boys, along with chaperones Schaefer and photography teacher Jennifer Godwin-Minto, will travel to Italy for spring break. The group will travel to both Rome and Florence, two of Italy’s most visited cities. In Rome the group plans to visit the Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Colosseum and the Pantheon while sampling the city’s pasta and gelato. During the second portion of the trip, students will take the train to Florence, where they will have the opportunity to see the Uffizi Gallery, the Academia Museum and the Bargello museum.
Schaefer spent a semester on sabbatical exploring Italy and is enthusiastic about the opportunity to share his knowledge with Poly students. Schaefer hopes that the trip will allow students “to enjoy Italian culture, and experience the center of the Greco-Roman world and the birthplace of the Renaissance.” While no concrete plans have been finalized for another trip to Italy in 2010, Schaefer hopes the school will continue this offering in the future.
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