Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park, NJ), June 10, 2001, page 5J
By: Shannon Mullen/Staff Writer

Scot King, Point Pleasant, is area coordinator for Intercultural Friends Foundation, a program that hosts French teens in the homes in the Point Pleasant area during the summer. King has a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s from Marygrove College. He has been a teacher for 15 years, and is currently teaching Park Avenue Elementary in Freehold.

Two groups of students will be arriving this summer. The first group will arrive on July 10 and leave July 29. The second group will arrive Aug. 6 and leave Aug. 25th. For more information on the program, call King at (732) 892-2571.

Q: How do these French students get into this exchange program?

A: All of the students who apply to this program are children of civil servants in France. Each student must complete an application and send it to the Jean Moulin Foundation, which is the works committee in France. The Jean Moulin Foundation then filters through the students’ applications and selects a number of them to come to the United States. Through this selection process we have received many high quality young men and women. All of the students have completed at least five years of English instruction and, therefore, they are fluent in our language.

Q: How does the program work? What do these kids do while they’re over here?

A: The goals of the program and the students in the program are to better understand our culture and to improve the students’ English-speaking ability. While they are in the United States for a three-week stay they will attend 36 hours of class in which American culture and English are taught. A certified teacher teaches the American culture class, and the English course is taught by the French chaperone, a professional teacher in France who accompanies the students to the States. Along with the classes, there are a number of activities that are scheduled each day to allow the students to become more familiar with our culture and our history. These activities include trips to New York City, Princeton and Philadelphia. Also while here they will visit the beach, shopping, the movies, bowling,ice-skating and other activities. Between the classes and these activities the students are busy most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is quite convenient for those parents who work during the day.

Q: Is it true that the French aren’t fond of America and Americans? You must get asked this a lot?

A: It’s funny you should ask that because when I first began the program I was apprehensive because of some of the stereotypes that I’d heard in the past. After doing the program for the past six years, I’ve found that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve never been so impressed with another group of young people. The students who come over are very respectful, well behaved and excited about their trip to America. They are like many other Europeans who would love the opportunity to live in the States, and they seem to be extremely fascinated with all aspects of American culture. I’ve been offered the opportunity to work with students from other countries and have decided to continue working with the French young people because of the many positive experiences.

Q: What are the responsibilities of a host family and what are the requirements? Is it difficult to find hosts?

A: The main responsibility and the most challenging for the family is to allow the student to become part of their family during their stay. Americans tend to want to entertain and fill every minute with activity. The best experience that I’ve seen is when the family allows the student to become like any other member of the family. One of the many concerns of the host family is cost. The activities are included in the program and host families are encouraged to attend. The students arrive with their own spending money; therefore, host families are only asked to provide meals and a place to sleep. The most challenging aspect of my position is finding who are willing to host a student. Because of the extreme busyness of our culture, we seem to be searching for reasons to say no rather than opening our homes to this wonderful opportunity. A lot of legwork must go into searching for and interviewing families. Fortunately, there have been many families that have hosted in the past and are excited to do it again. These families that have opened up their homes have found it quite rewarding.

Q: What is the impact of these visits? Can you give some examples?

A: To experience the impact of the visits, you need to be there at the bus the morning of departure and see all of the tearful goodbyes. It is amazing how great an impact a three-week stay can have on someone’s life. Throughout the year, I am constantly running into folks who have hosted a student in the past, and they share an anecdote or update from their new”family member” in France. Often these families will thank me for allowing them to participate in the program and mention how this experience has brought their family closer than they were before. Because of this experience, a number of host families have traveled to France to meet the families of the student that they hosted. This program has allowed a small group of Jerseyans to gain a greater understanding of other cultures and become more aware of other people around the world.

- Shannon Mullen, Staff Writer

The Capital (Annapolis, MD), March 27, 2009, page A6
By: Diane M. Rey

The young members of All Children’s Chorus of Annapolis expected to learn more about singing when they joined the group – but who knew they’d also be getting lessons in world geography and social studies?

That’s what will happen when they host 22 visiting choristers from Croatia next month. It will be an opportunity for ACCA members to work on their international diplomacy skills before many of them pack their bags and head to Paris in June for their own chorus trip abroad.

As ACCA director Liz Barrett says: “We’re broadening our horizons.”

Since their first rehearsal – on the fateful date of Sept. 11, 2001 – Liz has wanted the chorus to spread international goodwill through song. “That was my mission from day one,” she said. Today, the ACCA is a diverse group of 67 young voices. Children ages 6 to 17 sing in three choral levels.

Their world view is reflected in the songs they practice at weekly rehearsals at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Rowe Boulevard. Last week, they rolled their “R’s” to warm up for a song in Spanish. They also worked on a Brazilian folk song in preparation for their performance last Saturday at the Young Voices of Maryland Choral Festival in Baltimore. They’ve sung songs in Latin, Hebrew, German, Norwegian, French and Italian, to name a few.

While they’re used to singing in foreign languages, learning to converse in Croatian will be a whole new experience for chorus members and their families.

Liz was introduced to the Croatian chorus Amorette last summer while singing in the Balkans with an adult choir. Professor Maja Maruic directs the choristers from Dubrovnik, who are all female and range in age from 12 to 22. While in Annapolis, the girls and their chaperones will stay with ACCA families as well as some West Annapolis neighbors of Liz and her husband, Bryan. It’s their first trip to the United States.

“Our girls are practicing very hard for the concerts in USA and as we say here, they are already with one foot on the plane,” chorus administrator Ana First wrote in an e-mail. The chorus has invited the ACCA to visit them in their country as well.

Christiana Logansmith, her husband, Stephen, and their son, Jack, 12, are readying their home in the Saefern community to host two of the visiting teenage girls. Jack is in his sixth year with ACCA.

The Logansmiths hope to give their guests a “real life” view of America. “Their only experience is what they’ve seen in the media,” Christiana said. “We’re sure they’re coming over here with heads full of ideas about what we’ll be like.”

As for Jack, a precocious sixth-grader at Montessori International Children’s House, he’s feeling pretty comfortable with his new role in international diplomacy. Asked if he knew where Croatia is located, he quickly replied, “It’s on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in Europe.”

While they’re here, the members of Amorette will divide their time between sight-seeing and performances. The two choruses will present a joint concert at 7:30 p.m., April 15 at Trinity United Methodist Church, at 1300 West St. The concert, titled “A Better World,” is free and open to the public. The choruses will present songs they sent each other to learn.

ACCA will hold tryouts for new members in April. For more information, visit www.allcca.com or call the director at 410-263-9191.

While they’re here, the members of Amorette will divide their time between sight-seeing and performances. The two choruses will present a joint concert at 7:30 p.m. April 15 at Trinity United Methodist Church, at 1300 West St. The concert, titled “A Better World,” is free and open to the public. The choruses will present songs they sent each other to learn.

ACCA will hold tryouts for new members in April. For more information, visit www.allcca.com or call the director at 410-263-9191.

Interested in opening up your home up to a young visitor from a foreign land? Joann Smith, community coordinator for the Intercultural Friends Foundation, is looking to place Spanish students in local homes this summer.

The students, ages 14 to 17, will be in the Annapolis area from June 25 to July 22 to work on their English skills and learn first-hand about America, its culture and people. Joann said the students are generally highly motivated, proficient in English, insured, and have their own spending money. The basic responsibility of the host family is to provide a bed, food, transportation help, “and lots of TLC by making the student feel like part of the family,” she said.

For details, contact Joann at jodyblair@aol.com.  For more information about the IFF, visit www.iffusa.org.

Speaking of local news with an international bent – here’s a story that’s not only out of the country, it’s out of this world.

Last Saturday , NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston used a song by the local band Pilgrim & Trout as the wake-up call for the crew on board space shuttle Discovery.

“In a Little While,” written by band member and Annapolis resident David Majerowicz, roused the crew of seven as they floated somewhere high above northeastern China. On a recording of the transmission, astronaut Richard “Ricky” Arnold, who requested the song, can be heard saying, “We’re ready for another great day here in orbit!”

Band member Greg Whipp said the astronaut, who grew up in Bowie, is a longtime fan who became a friend over the years. (He’s noted as playing the guitar on his official NASA bio.) The two have been talking online in recent days. “It’s pretty cool getting an e-mail from outer space,” Greg said.

The band played at a send-off party for the former science teacher when he joined the space agency, and he promised to return the favor by taking the group’s music to a “higher” level. He’s on his first trip in space as a mission control specialist on Discovery, which blasted off March 15 to perform work on the international space station. The astronauts of the STS 119 mission are scheduled to return to earth tomorrow

To hear the wake-up song and see the Discovery crew in action, click on the YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT5smLrmRNk.

Those who are earthbound can catch Pilgrim & Trout at Sam’s on the Waterfront, Ram’s Head venues, and the Woodfire in Severna Park. Check their schedule at www.pilgrimandtrout.com.

Got news? Send your tips to aroundannapolis@comcast.net

The Capital (Annapolis, MD), October 2, 2008, page B2
By: Mitchelle Stephenson

A group of 28 Spanish exchange students and their two escorts traversed an ocean and traded a Spanish-speaking home for English-speaking substitutes in south county – but just temporarily.

On Sept. 4, a group of teenagers made the trip, and were sponsored by 30 south county families. The teens stayed for three weeks, then returned to Spain Sept. 25.

For the host families, “it was fun and it was hard,” said Lisa Gaskins, an Edgewater mother who hosted Noellia Iglesias, 16. “But I’m really glad we did it.”

Mrs. Gaskins’ daughter, Shannon, is a student at South River High School who has been taking Spanish throughout secondary school.

Last spring, Joanne Smith, program coordinator for the IFF-Intercultural Friends Foundation exchange program, an independent exchange program, came to Shannon’s class and spoke about the opportunity to host a Spanish student for three weeks.

Later, after Mrs. Gaskins and Mrs. Smith spoke on the phone, the family was pretty well sold on the idea. They completed the necessary paperwork and had their home inspected.

The inspection included making sure that each exchange student has his or her own bed, Mrs. Gaskins said. And the families can request a boy or girl.

Exchange student Rosa Mendez, 16, had her own ideas about what her American experience would be like. Some were correct, others were way off the mark.

For example, “I thought that the boys would be disrespectful to girls in school,” Rosa said, noting that it seems that way in American movies. But she said she was surprised to find that the boys at South River High were well-behaved toward the girls.

On the other hand, she was correct on another point. “I thought that everyone drives a lot and the children have a lot of activities each day,” Rosa said, adding that notion was confirmed by her experiences here.

The host families took the students to places near and far.

The exchange students did whatever the families did, Mrs. Smith said. One family took their student to New York City to see a play on Broadway. The Gaskins took their student to Philadelphia. Others went to Ocean City or to the Renaissance Festival; to Redskins football games and Nationals baseball games. Many enjoyed trips to Westfield Annapolis mall.

Inma Valdes, one of the adult escorts, has been on a number of these trips. She’s an English teacher in her hometown of Oviedo, Spain. While in the United States, she stayed with Mrs. Smith, the program coordinator, and spent her days escorting thestudents throughout the area.

Because the exchange students don’t spend every day at school here, the organization plans activities and day trips so that the students can play tourist while in the United States.

On the last night of their stay, the students shared a potluck dinner with the families in the program at the Davidsonville Ruritan Center where the students performed skits and sang songs for their host families.

Mrs. Smith said that each year she finds it amazing that so many families are willing to open their hearts and their homes to these students. “It is a rewarding experience for everyone, not just students, but also the host families,” she said.

For more information on the program, visit www.iffusa.org.

—

Mitchelle Stephenson is a freelance writer living in Edgewater.

The Capital (Annapolis, MD), August 8, 2008, page B2’
By: Diane M. Rey

Taylor Lewis spent a lot of time hanging out with her sister this summer, lying on the beach, going to amusement parks, laughing together and listening to music.

It sounds like pretty normal stuff, but at the end of July, Taylor had to say goodbye to Natalia Herran Martinez when Natalia boarded an airplane to head back home to her real family in Madrid, Spain.

Although the teens aren’t actually related, they forged a sisterly bond over a four-week period through the Intercultural Friends Foundation, a nonprofit student exchange program founded by Severna Park resident Miriam Rheinstein.

This is the second summer that Taylor and her family, who live in Gambrills, have hosted a student from another country. Taylor, a senior at Annapolis High School in the International Baccalaureate Program, said the experiences have broadened her understanding of the world.

“I just like getting to know another culture and getting to meet someone else,” said Taylor, 17. She plans to keep in touch with Natalia through e-mail and instant messaging and hopes to visit her family in Spain some day.

That kind of long-term connection is a goal of the program, said Joann Smith of Edgewater. An IFF coordinator for 19 years, Joann made the local arrangements for the 11 Spanish students and one chaperone who stayed with Annapolis-area families this summer. She’ll oversee another group – her 50th – when 30 Spanish students stay with area families from Sept. 4 to 25. The students who participate generally are 14 to 17 years old.

“It’s been wonderful,” said Joann, a former Spanish teacher who works as a substitute and tutor in county public schools and opens her home to foreign visitors. “I feel I have family members throughout Spain: sons, daughters, grandchildren,” she said. “My ultimate goal is when the whole family goes to visit the family of the student who stayed with them here. That’s a great opportunity.”

The recent group from Spain was kept busy during their stay, learning about American culture and seeing the sights.

They kicked off their visit June 27 with an orientation and welcome luncheon at Atria Manresa, the Annapolis retirement and assisted living center where Taylor’s mom, Dawn, is the community sales director. The Spanish students sang and danced for the residents.

“A lot of our residents are well-traveled. It sparks their memories and allows them to reminisce,” said Vicki Lomax, director of the center’s activities program.

Following the luncheon, the group took a guided tour of Annapolis. Other group excursions took them to Washington, D.C., Six Flags America in Bowie, and to Westfield Annapolis mall for a movie and shopping day.

With the Lewis family, Natalia was able to see and experience much more. They took her to the African-American Heritage Festival in Baltimore, the Belair Mansion in Bowie, George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia and to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, among other outings.

Natalia spent the Fourth of July in Annapolis, viewing the parade and fireworks. She also sat in on

Taylor’s jazz dance classes at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

“They have truly hit it off,” said Dawn while Natalia was still in town. “Every night they watch a ‘film’ as they say in Spain. I can hear them giggling ’till I fall off to sleep. They’ve really bonded,” she said.

Natalia, 16, described her American family as “very nice, friendly and welcoming.” Since her English is a bit halting, she turned to her newfound sister, Taylor, for help with the translation.

To volunteer to host a Spanish student in September, send an e-mail to jodyblair@aol.com

For more information about the Intercultural Friends Foundation, call 410-647-9500 or visit www.iffusa.org.

The Annapolis Striders are looking for more volunteers – 250 to be exact – to help out with the 33rd annual Annapolis 10-Mile Run, which goes off at 7:45 a.m. Aug. 24.

A signature summer event in Annapolis, the run has a field of 5,500 runners who start and end at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

There are openings for race-day workers and pre-race events. All volunteers will receive a commemorative T-shirt. Area hotels and restaurants also are welcome to set up booths or provide fliers for the Race Eve Expo that runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 23.

“We have people from all over the world come into Annapolis for this event,” said Donna Cogle, volunteer coordinator. “If you can’t run, you can still come out, have fun and support the local running community (as a volunteer).”

To volunteer or for more information, call Donna at 443-623-6628, send an e-mail to rundonna1@hotmail.com or send an e-mail to volunteer co-coordinator Lynne Traher at latraher@verizon.net

How often do you get a chance to eat watermelon with a queen?

You can from 4 to 7 p.m. today at City Dock, when the national, Maryland-Delaware, Alabama and Florida watermelon queens will be in town to promote locally grown watermelons now, during the height of the season.

Free watermelon slices will be given away at the event, which is sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Mar-Del Watermelon Association. There will be seed-spitting and watermelon-eating contests as well as giveaways, including recipes.

It all takes place near the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial.

Tomorrow wraps up National Farmers’ Market Week, so if you miss out on this event, you can head to one of the local farmers markets and pick up a watermelon of your own.

Below is a rundown of farmers markets serving Annapolis. You can find more sources for local produce, learn what’s ripe now and get recipes and more online at www.marylandsbest.net.

Anne Arundel County Farmers Market

Location: Riva Road and Harry S Truman Parkway

Hours: 7 a.m. to noon Saturday through Dec. 20; and 7 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Oct. 28

Annapolis FRESHFARM Market (new)

Location: Donner Parking Lot, Compromise Street

Hours: 8 a.m. to noon Sundays through Oct. 5

Westfield Annapolis Farmers Market (new)

Location: Mall parking lot near Sears Automotive

Hours: Noon to 3 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 28

—

What’s your good news? Send it to aroundannapolis@comcast.net

The Capital (Annapolis, MD), September 25, 2007, page B1
By: Elisabeth Hulette

Side by side, Amy Sweat, 15, a junior at South River High School, doesn’t look at all like Adriana Bazaga, 16, her exchange student “sister” from Spain.

But dressed in jeans and a gray T-shirt, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, Amy said she found something in common with Adriana, clad in skintight plaid and black leggings, her long brown hair styled in waves.

They both play the piano, and they both speak Spanish and English. And for the past three weeks, they have shared a family and a school as Adriana visited Crofton through an exchange program.

“She tells stories about her village,” Amy said. “Without actually going to Spain, I learned a lot about the culture.”

Adriana was one of 28 Spanish exchange students who said goodbye to their host families at a farewell party last night at South River High School.

They came here on academic scholarships from the Caja De Extremadura bank in Extremadura, a region in southwest Spain. Their three-week trip was coordinated by the Severna Park-based Intercultural Friends Foundation and Spanish Heritage, an exchange program that has been bringing Spanish students to the area for 18 years.

Joann Smith, a coordinator for the Intercultural Friends Foundation, gets the program rolling every year by asking families at South River if they’d like to host an exchange student.

“From the moment they walk in the door, they’re not strangers anymore,” said Vicky Arechaga, academic director of Spanish Heritage in the United States.

The organization runs similar exchanges in countries like Ireland and England, where students pay to live at a boarding house, she said. But the students who come to South

River get a different experience because their hosts volunteer to take them in.

“When somebody does it as a volunteer, what do they want? Just to know someone from a different country,” Ms. Arechaga said.

The students are not guests, she said. Rather, they do chores with their host siblings and for three weeks become members of their host families.

“It’s a totally different experience” from the America they would see as tourists, she said.

The Spanish students spent 61/2 days shadowing their American host students at South River. They spent the rest of the time on trips to monuments and museums in Washington, Baltimore’s inner harbor, the Harley Davidson factory and Arundel Mills mall.

Shopping was one of the best parts of the trip for Adriana – who discovered the teen clothing store Hot Topic – and Cristina Garcia, 16, and her host sister, Katrina Mayes, 16.

Hosting an exchange student “expands your horizons,” Katrina said, adding that she hopes to go visit Cristina in Spain next summer. “I’ve got plans for that one,” she said to Cristina.

Ms. Smith said connections made during the three weeks sometimes continue long after the exchange, citing Marian Cabezas-Shrewsberry, a part-time Spanish teacher at South River, as an example.

Ms. Cabezas-Shrewsberry was chaperone for the Spanish Heritage exchange to Maryland in 2000 and 2001. She took a job teaching Spanish in Prince George’s County in 2001 to continue learning English, then married an American and settled in the area.

The Spanish students need to learn English, and the exchange is a great way for them to get practice, she said.

“But if the bank didn’t give them the opportunity, they probably wouldn’t get here,” Ms. Cabezas-Shrewsberry said.

The students will leave for the airport tomorrow with tears in their eyes, as happens every year, Ms. Arechaga said. They also will leave with a better understanding different cultures, she said.

“It is the only way we can understand other people,” she said.

The Capital (Annapolis, MD), September 27, 2004, page A1
By: Kimberly Marselas

It wasn’t the rotating block schedule or taking his first elective courses that threw Annapolis High School junior Martin Eller for a loop.

No, the 16-year-old German exchange student was just used to having more time to regroup during the academic day.

“What I absolutely don’t like is that we have only five minutes between the classes,” said Mr. Eller, who got two, 25-minute breaks in addition to a lengthy lunch period at his Frankfurt high school.

Principals and guidance counselors here say they’ve welcomed at least 13 exchange students, all of whom are coping with learning new schedules and customs and giving up liberties they were used to in their own countries.

After earning a 10-month trip to America through the Council on International Educational Exchange, Mr. Eller settled in with former Annapolis mayor Dick Hillman and his family in a historic house just steps from the Historic State House and enrolled in classes at Annapolis High. He’s accompanied there by fellow German Dana Hoeppenstein.

Other principals may admit as many – or as few – foreign exchange students as they wish. Most host just one or two a year. Old Mill High School, however, has four students: two from Germany and one each from Finland and Switzerland.

Although his school is closed to in-county transfers, Broadneck Guidance Counselor Joe Kozik is willing to accept foreign students because they add to the school environment, whether in the classroom, in the band or on the athletic field.

Students here for a full year or even a semester register for classes and may participate in all extracurricular activities.

“I always like to hook these kids up with other students and get them socializing,” Mr. Kozik said. “You have to make them feel comfortable and confident… We make them joiners.”

The same privileges don’t extend to foreign exchange students who stop by for a week or two, sitting in on a few classes without enrolling.

Twenty-one students from in and around the city of Caceres in Spain spent the last three weeks living in Edgewater, attending classes with South River High School students and touring Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Beatriz Rebollo, 17, stayed with Jack and Sherri Hennen and their 10th-grade daughter, Jacklyn. They treated her to weekend excursions to Ocean City and New York.

During the days they went to class, the students attended their host siblings’ courses or hung out with foreign language teachers, who used them as cultural resources.

Other times, they got away to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., or to Arundel Mills mall in Hanover.

“Spanish girls are always about fashion and clothes, so they loved going to the mall,” said Daniel Alonso.

He should know. In five years, he’s escorted seven groups of Spanish teenagers on similar trips serving as a translator, a counselor and an emergency manager when crises arise.

“Most of them, it’s their first time here,” he said, watching as the teens filled out trip evaluation forms before a pool party and old-fashioned American potluck dinner Wednesday. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they’re loving it.”

Foreign perspective

Some trip organizers say families are becoming more interested in sending their children to the Washington and Baltimore region again.

Immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many placement firms stopped recruiting host families in the area because of security concerns.

Joann Smith, a local coordinator for the Intercultural Friends Foundation, said it is a little easier to convince groups to send students here now, although overall numbers still lag below pre-Sept. 11 levels.

“I think they are feeling more secure, but I think we’re still getting fewer groups than we did before,” she said.

Because the school system’s central office no longer tracks the number of temporary international students, it’s unclear whether there are actually more exchange students here this year.

But the ones who do come are glad to immerse themselves in a different culture. They’re also quick to shape opinions.

In hesitant but clear English, Rocio Entonado and some of her fellow travelers recounted some of the differences they’d discovered between Americans and Spaniards.

“We are more formal with shoes, no sports clothes,” she said, dolled up for a farewell party in a pair of smart heels and dark blue blazer.

“The cities are cleaner, much cleaner than in Spain,” said Sylvia Lopez, 17.

“But the houses are dirtier,” chimed in Nushin Azimi, 17.

Mr. Hillman said Mr. Eller is showing up his son, Jacob, by making the bed each morning – and sitting down to homework as soon as he gets back from school each afternoon.

But Mr. Eller, as most foreign exchange students, also is finding plenty of time for fun and new experiences.

A Christian, he recently attended synagogue with the Hillmans for Rosh Hashanah. He’s also taken a liking to American football, which only made its debut at his high school about five years ago.

Besides his desire for more downtime at school, Mr. Eller’s only other major disappointment seems to be his limited transportation options.

At 16, Mr. Eller is too young to drive in his own country, and exchange trip rules forbid him from driving while in America.

At home, the subway “comes right to our door,” and he usually biked to school.

Now, he’s getting rides to school with a nearby senior and taking a city bus home after rehearsals for “Father of the Bride,” in which he will play wedding coordinator Joe. He’s the one without the accent.

—

kmarselas@capitalgazette.com

The York Dispatch (York, PA), September 10, 2003, Local News
By Kristin Finan Dispatch/Sunday News

Rocio Gamero is perplexed by what she calls “fried biscuits.”

She’s been to fairs in her native Spain. But some of this food — the funnel cakes, fried dough and fried onions — seems odd.

“There are a lot of strange restaurants here,” said the 16-year-old, referring to the vendors she encountered yesterday at the York Fair. “We don’t have things like that.”

Nearly 30 Spanish students ages 14-17 received yet another lesson in American culture yesterday when they attended the fair. The teens are staying with foster families near Annapolis as part of the Intercultural Friends Foundation, a Maryland-based organization that brings Spanish students to the United States every summer.

Joann Smith, IFF coordinator and a native Yorker, said students will spend their visit attending classes at local high schools and taking day trips to attractions in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. She said when the opportunity arose to bring them to her hometown fair, she couldn’t pass it up.

“I thought the students would really enjoy it,” Smith said, adding that the students visited the Harley-Davidson plant earlier in the day. “We talk about the differences between the fairs here and the fairs in Spain. Their eyes lit up when they saw the rides.”

Francisco Sanchez, 16, said his stomach was aching as he stepped off the “Tango,” which spins, twists and turns riders high in the air. He said he comes from a very small town that usually has only bumper cars at its carnivals.

“They have a lot of attractions that are better than the fairs in my town,” Sanchez said.

A few suggestions: Other students said the huge rides, tricky games and greasy food were more familiar. They said they were impressed with York’s attractions, but they offered a quick list of things they said would make the fair feel more like home.

First, replace the blaring rock ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬and pop music with a little flamenco.

Hold on to the hamburgers and hot dogs, but sprinkle in a few more native Spanish treats.

In addition to providing goldfish as prizes, try iguanas — and turtles.

Finally, dress everyone in traditional Spanish garb and get them dancing.

“It’s just a very popular, very important celebration,” Sanchez said.

German Pons, 16, embraced the game-playing aspect of the York Fair, winning a basketball and a poster to take back to friends in Spain. He said he has already learned a great deal about American culture since arriving Sept. 4, and that he is particularly impressed by the height of some buildings and the numerous green areas within cities.

“I feel like I’m inside a movie,” Pons said.

The once bright, sharp lights of the Fireball, a circular attraction that zooms forward, then back, and at one point holds riders at the top for about 10 seconds, looked blurry to 17-year-old Ana Carrera as she stepped off.

“My head almost exploded,” she remarked.

The experience: As Carrera waited for her body to adjust to being on solid ground, she scanned the crowd, taking in the groups of people walking the area. Once she had her bearings, she said is impressed by the diversity she sees here.

“There are people of different cultures, races,” she said. “I like the mixture.”

She added that she likes being able to meet new people and practice her English. Smith, a former Spanish teacher, said three weeks can work wonders for a student’s proficiency.

“Three weeks of living with another family can make a tremendous difference in speaking ability,” Smith said.

But not everything about the United States is great, Carrera said. She said she’s having trouble adjusting to the larger amounts of food people eat here and the mealtimes. She said the noon lunchtime she adheres to while attending classes at American high school has been difficult to get used to, as she is used to eating one big meal at 3 p.m.

Yesterday, though the students had an opportunity to buy their own meals and eat when they wanted, none rushed to food stands at 3 p.m. Some said they were a little queasy from all the rides, while others said they weren’t too interested in treats whose names they couldn’t properly translate into Spanish.

Still, they proclaimed the fair a success, and offered an invitation.

“You must visit Spain,” Sanchez said. “You will like the food there. And the weather is very good.”