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Published: 06 March 2013

Created: 06 March 2013

Last Updated: 06 March 2013

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As I was on my way to the camp bus stop in June 2012, I received a very exciting piece of news; I was selected to be a part of the Spanish exchange program for the following school year. Around mid-September, twelve other Scarsdale students and I learned that we were paired up with Spanish students, around the same age as ourselves, who attend Colegio Ramon y Cajal, a private school in Madrid. When I found out I was matched with a junior named Maria De La Fuente I immediately went home to contact her. Leading up to her arrival, Maria and I spoke almost every day and realized that we had a lot in common.

After contact via email and Skype for so long, the day when I would meet Maria finally arrived. On Friday, October 12 thirteen SHS students accompanied by our two teacher chaperones, Señor DiDomenico and School Psychologist Ernie Collabolletta went to JFK airport to greet our Spanish friends upon their arrival from Madrid. After receiving kisses on each cheek from the Spanish students, we all boarded the school bus to Scarsdale and began the fun-filled weeks of activities we had planned.

We spent two busy weeks with our Spanish exchange students, showing them what it was like to be a teenager in Scarsdale and all too quickly it was time to say our goodbyes. As the students were about to board the bus for the airport, the news came that their flight was cancelled due to an impending hurricane (the infamous Sandy). At first, the Spanish students were jumping for joy because they were going to have an extended stay, but nobody realized what was in store for the next few days. With the loss of electricity and fallen trees everywhere, I am sure the Spanish students had an unforgettable, yet scary, extra three days.

Four months later, once again, Mother Nature decided to interfere with the Spanish exchange program. As I was packing my bags to leave for Madrid on Friday, February 8, we received notice that our flights were cancelled due to nor'easter/blizzard, Nemo. Thankfully, our flights were quickly rescheduled for the following Sunday and before we knew it, we were finally in Madrid.

There I was reunited with Maria and introduced to her parents, and it felt as though no time had passed at all since I had seen her in October. All of the exchange students were excused from school the day we arrived, so Maria already had a full day planned for me, to make up for the two-day delay. After returning to Maria's home and resting a bit, we ventured into the city with some other exchange students. Although I was tired and jet-lagged I went on my first Spanish metro ride, saw the beautiful Plaza del Sol, and ate my first, of many, plates of Jamon de Serrano.

On Tuesday we experienced our first day at Colegio Ramon y Cajal. Kids between kindergarten and twelfth grade attend this school, so while walking into school in the morning, there were little kids playing in the courtyards, a very different sight than when entering Scarsdale High School. In Maria's school, the older students choose their course of study and she selected the math and science path, which entails Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Technical drawing, Philosophy and the required classes: English and Spanish. I found it very interesting to sit through Math and Physics because in my classes I happened to be learning the exact same topics that they were studying. On the days that we went to school, we just sat back in the class and tried to understand what was going on.

The days in which we did not attend school, all the SHS students and our two teachers went on excursions through Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo. Some of the sites we visited included Palacio Real, Retiro Park, and Museo Reina Sofia. On our first excursion, we started off the day at a famous café called Café Fijon where we enjoyed delicious cappuccinos and fresh Churros con chocolate, fried dough sticks with a cup of pure melted dark chocolate on the side. After filling up on a Spanish breakfast, we went to the very famous Museo del Prado where we walked around, with headphones as guides, viewing the paintings of Goya, Velazquez, Greco and more. The most memorable paintings I saw were the ones during Francisco Goya's dark period. His paintings before this time are all very colorful and pretty, but when he entered his dark period, the paintings became very gory and depressing. I found the contrast between his artworks during the two times of his life to be astonishing because they really reflect the hardships he faced. Goya entered this Dark Age later in life after becoming deaf and contracting syphilis.

After visiting El Museo del Prado, we walked to the Plaza Mayor. As we were entering the magnificent square, a large parade of Spanish men and women, dressed in costumes, was walking through the plaza, singing songs and cheering. We found ourselves right in the middle of this up-beat procession and jumped into the fun. Candy was being thrown all over and everyone was chanting. It was a great feeling to be a part of a real cultural festivity and it was a memory I will never forget.

Following our exciting experience in Plaza Mayor, the entire group sat down in a very nice restaurant for a traditional Spanish lunch. In Spain, lunch is considered "the big meal" of the day, so our lunch consisted of four delicious courses. We started off with plates of Jamón and cheese, chorizo, tortilla de patatas, and croquettes. After this filling start, we enjoyed wonderful paella and traditional Spanish desserts.

On another day we visited El Escorial, one of the historical residences of the King and Queen of Spain in the pueblo of San Lorenzo del Escorial. On the first Monday of our trip, we drove 45 minutes to this town outside the city of Madrid only to learn that El Escorial is closed to the public on Mondays! Even though we were disappointed that we were not able to tour this splendid palace and see the burial site of Ferdinand and Isabella, we made the best of it and found a quaint café in the center of the pueblo, where we once again drank cappuccinos and ate pastries. This turned out to be one of my favorite days because afterwards we returned to Madrid and were given a choice of how to spend the day. A group of us decided we wanted to return to Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and then go to the Mercado de San Miguel, which is a very large market with numerous tapas stands. We went on an "eating tour" through the market and ate many different tapas plates. We then went to what Ernie considered to be, "the best bakery in Madrid," in the middle of Sol and had delicious cakes and chocolate Napoleons. Ultimately it turned out to be a very fun day and a great way to experience Madrid.

The last trip we took was to Toledo, otherwise known as "the city of three cultures" because Jews, Arabs, and Christians all lived there together. Placed all around the Jewish quarter are tiles in the ground that say "life" (Chai) in Hebrew. I found the Jewish quarter to be very fascinating because I felt a piece of my own culture and background in this city. Aside from the expansive history Toledo has, the views are breathtaking and it is enjoyable just to sit and take it in.

Touring as a group during the week was great, and on the weekends I enjoyed spending time with Maria, her two younger brothers, and lovely parents. They took me to different parts of the city and Maria's father Carlos, cooked his specialty, seafood Paella, which was top-notch. Her parents also surprised me with tickets to a fashion show for Madrid Fashion Week 2013. The family only spoke to me in Spanish, which greatly improve my speaking abilities and by the end of the two-weeks they even complimented my improvement. I really liked my Spanish family and plan on keeping in touch with them and seeing them in the future, either in New York or Madrid.

While in Madrid, we had beautiful weather, experienced so much culture, and did I mention, great food? I encourage all Scarsdale High School students to partake in any exchange program offered. The 2012-2013 Spanish Exchange Program was an incredible and memorable adventure and I was so lucky to be a part of it.

Contributor Chelsea Shemesh is a junior at Scarsdale High School

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Published: 11 March 2013

Created: 11 March 2013

Last Updated: 11 March 2013

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"The word is actually pronounced cuh-lide. You said koh-lide"
"Okay, collide."

Within two hours of arriving in Aix-en-Provence, France, my American friends and I had already witnessed the first major difference. It just so happened that the first class we were there to observe was a biology class conducted in English. That day, groups of kids were to present their topics to the class. Immediately after the first presentation finished, the teacher began to directly address the individual who had mispronounced the word "collide." She then made her way down the line of students, correcting every minor slip-up in front of the entire class. We Americans were quite surprised to be witnessing this level of public criticism, a practice one would be hard-pressed to find within the Scarsdale Schools.

Probably the part of the Exchange that we were most nervous about --but also very excited for-- was meeting our hosts' families. While Florie lived at my house in October, she had shown me pictures of her father, mother, brother, sister, and dog. Actually, on second thought, the dog may have been my biggest concern, considering I have no pets at home and generally do not love large dogs. In the end, however, both the family and the dog Curly proved to be amazing and nothing to fear. To my pleasant surprise, Florie's mother Corinne picked up a few Americans and me from the airport even though we had been told that there would be a bus taking us to the school. On the way, a friend of mine in the car, though verging on falling asleep, tried her best to find the words to tell Corinne that Florie looks just like her.

That night, I met both Florie's eighteen-year old sister Pauline and her father Bernard. During my first dinner with my new family the following night, I learned that Bernard could speak a little English. But, whenever he tried to say a word in English, Florie called him out on it, telling him that this was not his Exchange, just like I had to reign my dad in when he tried to speak French to Florie this past fall.

On Friday, I finally met Florie's nineteen-year old brother who attends school in Avignon but returns home every weekend. He provided me with a much-needed dose of "guy-time;" his first night home, we sat on the couch for hours playing FIFA, a soccer video game. During those games, I quickly picked up on many common French words, none of which are taught in school! The following day, while Florie and her sister went shopping in Aix, I ventured around the area with her brother and his friends. There were two main things I mentioned that his friends really latched onto: 1. I could drive starting at 16 and 2. I do not yet know what I want to do when I graduate. In France, the students are required to decide what academic path they would like to continue on when they are only fourteen-years old. Many of the French guys told me they hope to become engineers but that they envy how I have not yet been forced to make any sort of major decision regarding my future.

Thinking back to that first day in Aix, which was an endurance test for all of us, since we had gone straight from the airport to Lycée Paul Cézanne High School, I remember a lot despite my overwhelming fatigue. As we pulled up to the school, we spotted our French friends who were eagerly awaiting our arrival following three months of separation since their stay in New York. After stepping out of various cars, we did the traditional "La Bise" double-cheek kiss with all the French kids, walked passed the groups of students smoking cigarettes in front of the school's entrance, and made our way to our very first French class. Following the somewhat shocking biology class, Florie and I went to her Spanish class where she had a "pop test." The teacher kindly gave the Americans the precious opportunity to take desperately needed naps. Aside from my snoring, which may have distracted a few kids in my area of the class, my first couple of French classes had gone smoothly.

Although our flight to France was delayed from Friday, February 8th to Sunday, February 11th due to the Nor'easter, cutting our trip short two days, there remains no shortage of stories to be told. (Oddly enough, when the French kids came to Scarsdale in October, they were here during Hurricane Sandy, so their perceptions regarding the severity of weather in New York may be slightly skewed.) My first lunch in the school's cafeteria, I sat with Florie and a group of both French and American students. When the hour-long lunch period had almost ended, the kids at my table began to head over to where the trays get collected. I was the last one to stand up, and before I could start to walk over, a lunch lady approached me. Because she spoke rapidly to me, I simply nodded, smiled, and walked away. But, then, I heard her yelling after me. It turned out that she had wanted me to clear a pitcher from the table. After handing her the pitcher, I glanced around to make sure that nobody else had witnessed the incident but realized there was a whole table of kids who had watched the whole scene play out. I felt a little bit less embarrassed than I might have knowing that all the other Scarsdale High School kids would soon surely be subject to similar misunderstandings during the next eleven days.

Linguistically, we, of course, encountered many amusing situations. Some of the differences stemmed from the fact that we are accustomed to learning more formal French while the French students are taught proper English. Other slip-ups simply derived from differences in pronunciation. When Florie took me to her friend's house one afternoon, the girl's father asked me what I thought of "Meet Romeknee." After he repeated the name a couple more times, I finally picked up on the political question he was trying to ask. The linguistic misunderstandings continued even after I got back from the trip. A couple days after returning home from France, I received a Facebook message from someone who was in my host's class but not directly involved with the Exchange. (In France, the students have the same kids with them for all of their courses.) The French boy asked me if I was back in the USA, so I told him that I was in fact back home. He then asked, "Did you enjoy your sojourn in Aix (en Provence)?" At first, I thought that he must have used Google Translator to come up with the word "sojourn." Rather, it was simply one of the words taught in school. We Americans also had plenty of chances to speak too formally and became accustomed to being corrected or playfully mocked.

Every other weekday during our first week in France, the Scarsdale students would embark on excursions while our French friends attended school. From the moment we would get on the bus to the instant the bus reached the desired destination, everybody would exchange stories about the previous night's adventures with the host families. We arrived in France on Monday, February 11th, and our first day of excursions was that Tuesday. The main topic of discussion on the bus that Tuesday: The Bathroom Situation. Even though we all had known what to expect, we were nonetheless taken aback by the French way of having a separate room simply for washing hands. In my house, I actually had the privilege of having three different bathrooms: One for the toilet, another for washing hands, and a third for showering.

At almost every destination we visited, there would be a few kids who would proclaim their love for the area and announce their plans to live there sometime down the road. If I had to choose, my favorite spot would be Cassis. It was so beautiful there, and it immediately appealed to both present and future Noah. Eating great food, hanging around by the beach, and having amazing views never can be outgrown. Also, many adults there play Bocce Ball near the beach, a game involving so little movement that I could definitely see myself taking it up later in life. Our group also took a forty-five minute boat ride around the spectacular region to get a better feel for the area. I fortunately even had a second opportunity to visit my future home Cassis when my French family took me on the hour-drive one afternoon to eat lunch by the water.

We were only in France for a grand total of twelve days, but we managed to visit and explore so many different places. Our first week abroad, the voyages included Arles, Le Pont du Gard, Nîmes, Avignon, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Gordes, and Roussillon. Then, our second week, the sightseeing trips included Marseille, Cassis, Nice, and lastly Monaco, another one of my top picks. In Nice, we went to the famous Flower Carnival, where it is traditional to try to catch blossoms as they are thrown off the floats. The outlandish costumes worn in Nice were memorable to say the least; a few kids on the Exchange joined in by purchasing colorful masks. I think everyone at the carnival really had a great time that day, except maybe the few girls who got Silly String stuck in their hair. It is also possible that the parents of the child who got knocked over by a man who was taking the flower-catching challenge a little too seriously may not have had a flawless experience. But, excluding those few, everyone had fun and will never forget the amazing costumes and interesting assortment of people present that day.

Ultimately, although the touring was incredible, there is no doubt in my mind that the greatest part of what we all have taken away from the experience is the relationships that were formed in Scarsdale back in October and then continued to develop this past month in Aix. As one French boy on the Exchange accurately posted in our French Exchange Facebook group, it is now the responsibility of us students to both continue to keep in touch with one another and to hopefully one day soon all get together again. We Americans will surely never forget our wonderful sojourn with our French friends in Aix.

On behalf of all the students in the French Exchange, "merci beaucoup" to the French teachers from Scarsdale who came with us and organized our events, Madame Corten and Madame Chan and also to the French teachers involved, Madame Sahut and Madame Swift.

This article was contributed by Noah Klayman, a student at Scarsdale High School.

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Published: 25 February 2013

Created: 25 February 2013

Last Updated: 25 February 2013

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On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 7:30 pm, the community is invited for a lecture by nationally renowned anti-bullying expert Dr. Joel Haber. This enlightening evening will focus on bullying and bullying prevention. Dr. Haber is know for his passionate and inspiring manner of getting to the heart of why people bully and what parents can do about it. Participants will leave the program with valuable tips that can be used with their children to prevent bullying before it starts.

Dr. Joel Haber is a Clinical Psychologist and nationally recognized parenting expert who has dedicated more than 20 years to the prevention of abusive behaviors in children and adults. He is the author of the internationally acclaimed, Bullyproof Your Child for Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting and Bullying for Good. Dr. Haber was a member of the advisory board for The Bully Project and credited in the 2012 movie, "Bully".

This program is presented as part of Westchester Reform Temple's ongoing Parenting Series and is free and open to the public at Westchester Reform Temple, 255 Mamaroneck Road, in Scarsdale, N.Y. For more information: call the temple at 914-723-7727 or visit www.wrtemple.org.