For the past six years, Tyburn Academy has been blessed with international students who have been a welcome addition to the school. This year, South America, Latin America and Asia are represented among our student population.
Now that they've had five months in the United States under their belts, I spent some time talking to them about their experiences. Marcos Ferreira of Goiania, Brazil; Cecilia Jimenez of Celaya, Mexico, and Jeong Seop Park of South Korea all had very different reasons for embarking on the adventure of spending a year in an American high school.
Marcos plans to attend college in the United States, and decided that this would be the easiest way to obtain a visa and spend time exploring the options of American higher education.
Cecilia noted that in her school and city it's almost expected and that most of her friends are scattered across the United States, Europe and Canada. Finished with high school at home, she said this year has given her more time to make decisions about her college choice. It's common to find that several children in a family will take the exchange student opportunity; her older brother spent a year in California. Park, who goes by the English name Austin, says that he wanted to experience American culture.
Sharing a border with their northern neighbor means that many Mexicans have traveled to the United States, and Ceci is no different; she has been to Texas and Florida. Marcos has never been outside of Brazil. Austin has traveled to Beijing, China, and Thailand with his family.
When asked about the biggest surprise about living here, Cecilia says that she thought she would be homesick but it hasn't happened. Marcos and Austin agreed. She also says that she and her friends had a preconceived notion that all Americans live an extravagant lifestyle, and she's seen that that's not true. Marcos was surprised to find that Christmas traditions here are very different; he and Ceci both say that at home, Christmas means extended family celebrating together for days. Austin says that the most interesting thing he has found about Americans is their open, positive attitude.
Although Austin has seen his share of winters, snow was an unknown for Marcos. Ceci has seen random snow in Mexico but spent a lot of time staring out the window in disbelief at our December accumulation. She is always cold, and has grown adept at layering!
Turning to discussions of school, I asked about the comparison with their home high schools - harder or easier. All three said “easier.” He and Ceci are finished with school at home, and their schedules include several electives along with the required English and American History, which all exchange students must take. Their favorite class is Marine Biology. Marcos, who speaks his native Portugese as well as Spanish, English and French, is taking Latin I.
All three students arrived with excellent English skills. Marcos began studying English at age 9, Austin at 5. Ceci started learning the language as a toddler, and by high school was taking half of her classes, including science and U.S. history in English. While Marcos says that in Brazil you would never see the close relationship between students and teachers which is usual at Tyburn, Cecilia says that in Mexico there is even more of a friendship. Austin's application had mentioned that he is particularly interested in American history; Dave DeSantis, who teaches that class at Tyburn, was amazed at Austin's knowledge of the subject when he arrived. Austin was also impressed by the number of electives offered here; he enjoys band and theology.
While Tyburn's size - 40 students - is a shock to most of the exchange students, they do like the closeness of the students and the ease with which they fit in.
I'm often asked if they mind wearing uniforms, and I have to remind people that the United States is the exception. In 30 years, I've yet to host or supervise an exchange student who hasn't always worn a uniform to school. Moving from room to room and having different students in each class, however, is strictly an American routine; at home, the same students stay in the same room all day, and the teachers come and go. Like most other students from Asia, Austin's school day in Korea is enough to make his Tyburn classmates feel faint. Classes start at 7:30 a.m., he returns home after his last class around 10 p.m., and attends classes on Saturdays as well.
When asked what they miss the most, Marcos, whose host family includes five children, smiled and said “My privacy.” But he admits that he is happy with his host family, the Blackmans. He and host brother Spencer, a junior at Tyburn, make the daily commute from their home in Phelps. Although he's never been terribly athletic, Marcos played on the Tyburn soccer and basketball teams with Spencer. Ceci admits to missing her friends and her school. She has the privacy that Marcos craves, as she lives with us, and except for holidays when my children and grandchildren descend on us, it's pretty quiet. Austin, who has only a 12-year-old sister at home, has also had to adapt to a larger family as the McEvers' household includes three younger siblings and several cats. He says that now his host family “feels like my real family.” Both Marcos and Ceci mentioned that they found it strange that homes here are so open to one another; in their home cities, all houses have a wall around them.
One truly American experience for Marcos has been the college application process. Hoping to follow in his mother's footsteps and earn a law degree, he has applied to a number of schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Boston University and Fordham. So he joins his classmates in the agonizing wait for the cherished acceptance letter. Ceci will start classes at Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in July to work on a degree in finance. Austin has two and a half years of high school left when he returns to Korea. He is an accomplished pianist who has done some composing, and may consider music as a career.
Discussing our current pre-election politics, all three agree that politics at home are also in the top of the news. An interesting coincidence is that Marcos, whose family is quite involved in politics, has met Brazilian President Lula, and Ceci has met former President Vincente Fox. Austin follows politics at home but says that the news there is much more strictly controlled.
The dozen exchange students who have shared their culture with Tyburn over the past few years have taught us much about the rest of the world. We hope that they will take back to their families, friends and countries a bit of friendship, faith and knowledge.
In April, we will start receiving applications for exchange students who wish to attend Tyburn next year. If you're interested in hosting one of these fine young people, please contact the school at 252-2937.
Barbara Murphy is the school nurse and does publicity for Tyburn Academy.
Marcos plans to attend college in the United States, and decided that this would be the easiest way to obtain a visa and spend time exploring the options of American higher education.
Cecilia noted that in her school and city it's almost expected and that most of her friends are scattered across the United States, Europe and Canada. Finished with high school at home, she said this year has given her more time to make decisions about her college choice. It's common to find that several children in a family will take the exchange student opportunity; her older brother spent a year in California. Park, who goes by the English name Austin, says that he wanted to experience American culture.
Sharing a border with their northern neighbor means that many Mexicans have traveled to the United States, and Ceci is no different; she has been to Texas and Florida. Marcos has never been outside of Brazil. Austin has traveled to Beijing, China, and Thailand with his family.
When asked about the biggest surprise about living here, Cecilia says that she thought she would be homesick but it hasn't happened. Marcos and Austin agreed. She also says that she and her friends had a preconceived notion that all Americans live an extravagant lifestyle, and she's seen that that's not true. Marcos was surprised to find that Christmas traditions here are very different; he and Ceci both say that at home, Christmas means extended family celebrating together for days. Austin says that the most interesting thing he has found about Americans is their open, positive attitude.
Although Austin has seen his share of winters, snow was an unknown for Marcos. Ceci has seen random snow in Mexico but spent a lot of time staring out the window in disbelief at our December accumulation. She is always cold, and has grown adept at layering!
Turning to discussions of school, I asked about the comparison with their home high schools - harder or easier. All three said “easier.” He and Ceci are finished with school at home, and their schedules include several electives along with the required English and American History, which all exchange students must take. Their favorite class is Marine Biology. Marcos, who speaks his native Portugese as well as Spanish, English and French, is taking Latin I.
All three students arrived with excellent English skills. Marcos began studying English at age 9, Austin at 5. Ceci started learning the language as a toddler, and by high school was taking half of her classes, including science and U.S. history in English. While Marcos says that in Brazil you would never see the close relationship between students and teachers which is usual at Tyburn, Cecilia says that in Mexico there is even more of a friendship. Austin's application had mentioned that he is particularly interested in American history; Dave DeSantis, who teaches that class at Tyburn, was amazed at Austin's knowledge of the subject when he arrived. Austin was also impressed by the number of electives offered here; he enjoys band and theology.
While Tyburn's size - 40 students - is a shock to most of the exchange students, they do like the closeness of the students and the ease with which they fit in.
I'm often asked if they mind wearing uniforms, and I have to remind people that the United States is the exception. In 30 years, I've yet to host or supervise an exchange student who hasn't always worn a uniform to school. Moving from room to room and having different students in each class, however, is strictly an American routine; at home, the same students stay in the same room all day, and the teachers come and go. Like most other students from Asia, Austin's school day in Korea is enough to make his Tyburn classmates feel faint. Classes start at 7:30 a.m., he returns home after his last class around 10 p.m., and attends classes on Saturdays as well.
When asked what they miss the most, Marcos, whose host family includes five children, smiled and said “My privacy.” But he admits that he is happy with his host family, the Blackmans. He and host brother Spencer, a junior at Tyburn, make the daily commute from their home in Phelps. Although he's never been terribly athletic, Marcos played on the Tyburn soccer and basketball teams with Spencer. Ceci admits to missing her friends and her school. She has the privacy that Marcos craves, as she lives with us, and except for holidays when my children and grandchildren descend on us, it's pretty quiet. Austin, who has only a 12-year-old sister at home, has also had to adapt to a larger family as the McEvers' household includes three younger siblings and several cats. He says that now his host family “feels like my real family.” Both Marcos and Ceci mentioned that they found it strange that homes here are so open to one another; in their home cities, all houses have a wall around them.
One truly American experience for Marcos has been the college application process. Hoping to follow in his mother's footsteps and earn a law degree, he has applied to a number of schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Boston University and Fordham. So he joins his classmates in the agonizing wait for the cherished acceptance letter. Ceci will start classes at Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in July to work on a degree in finance. Austin has two and a half years of high school left when he returns to Korea. He is an accomplished pianist who has done some composing, and may consider music as a career.
Discussing our current pre-election politics, all three agree that politics at home are also in the top of the news. An interesting coincidence is that Marcos, whose family is quite involved in politics, has met Brazilian President Lula, and Ceci has met former President Vincente Fox. Austin follows politics at home but says that the news there is much more strictly controlled.
The dozen exchange students who have shared their culture with Tyburn over the past few years have taught us much about the rest of the world. We hope that they will take back to their families, friends and countries a bit of friendship, faith and knowledge.
In April, we will start receiving applications for exchange students who wish to attend Tyburn next year. If you're interested in hosting one of these fine young people, please contact the school at 252-2937.
Barbara Murphy is the school nurse and does publicity for Tyburn Academy.
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