Similar to the school’s past two exchanges, students on this exchange lived with a host Swiss student and his/her family while touring the country, shadowing them while in school, and getting to know their host families.

“I wanted to see life from another perspective,” said junior Vanessa Kreytak.

The flight took off at 6:50 PM from Newark International Airport. After seven tiring hours on the plane, students couldn’t wait to land in Switzerland. The Americans arrived at 6:00 in the morning, where they were greeted by three Swiss students and one teacher from our host school, Kantonsshule Im Lee.

Students and teachers were taken to school where they were greeted by the Swiss principal and offered lunch.

“Their school food is so much better than our food; they actually have chefs working,” said junior Glenn Kugelman.

After the “official” welcome, the school day was over and the American students were free to go home and spend the weekend with their host students.

Some students had the pleasure to travel during the weekend, going as far as Bern, the capital of Switzerland and Rome, Italy.

On Monday, students arrived at school bright and early to start sightseeing. At first, the students went on a walking tour of the town where the Swiss hosts lived, followed by free time to shop and eat.

During the afternoon, the students were given the opportunity to tour the historic Kyburg Castle.

Tuesday was the day the students were able to see the Rhein falls. Students walked along the sight seeing paths taking many pictures with the falls as the background.

“One of my favorite students was traveling with the students, we had a lot of fun touring the cities and meeting the other [Swiss] students in their school and how they interact. I feel our students truly experienced the culture,” said Ms. Suroweic.

The Americans were set to attend school all day Wednesday. The Swiss hosts were all in the same classes, so the Americans weren’t separated. Our students attended classes such as Biology, Literature, and Calculus. This was also the day where the Principal of Kantonsshule Im Lee gave the students a fond farewell as well as a small gift. Each student received a Swiss army knife that was in the form of a credit card.

On Thursday, the American students, accompanied by their Swiss friends, traveled to Zurich where they went sightseeing around the town and finished up their last minute souvenir shopping.

That Friday marked the day of departure back to the United States. Our travelers had a connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany before reaching there much wanted homes here in the United States. With each student’s family waiting and the crowd giving our students a round of applause as they exited the customs area. Each student couldn’t help but agree that this trip was anything but unforgettable.

Related posts:

1. Swiss Students In NYC
2. Chocolate, Fun, Cultural Immersion
3. Japan Brings Joy to Students

Surely you noticed the temporary addition of European teenagers walking down the hallways with our own students and speaking in a foreign language last week. Those were the highly anticipated Swiss exchange students.

In keeping with our school’s international mission, we recently hosted Swiss exchange students from Kantonsschule Im Lee High School from Winterthur, Switzerland.  While here, the exchange students were able to experience a different culture as they shadowed their host students in school, traveled into the city, and stayed in their new homes from October 13th to the 24th.

Unlike the varying ages in the United States, the driving age in Switzerland is 18.

“The driving age in Switzerland is 18. To drive a tractor or a moped the age is 14. The younger kids always go fast on the mopeds, and its quite funny,” said Swiss student Vanessa Romanescu.

So what language were they speaking? Switzerland has four official languages, German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German and French are the two most dominant languages spoken in Switzerland. Romansh is spoken primarily in the villages and in the mountains. Swiss people have their own dialect of German, which is referred to as Swiss German.

They listen, however, to about the same type of music that we do. The music in Switzerland is the same as in America.

“We have the same music as Americans but we also have German music. The Swiss rap is different. They [artists] rap in Swiss German or French,” said Swiss exchange student Dominique Peter.

The educational system in Switzerland is much different from the United States. Children start kindergarten at about 5 years old. The primary schools last up until the 6th grade. After the students finish primary school, they have the option of going to secondary school for 3 years and then move onto an apprenticeship.

An apprenticeship is when the students go to school for two days out of the week and work the other three days. Another option that students have is to take an admissions exam to get into a specialized high school, which will allow you to study at any university in Switzerland.

Students in Stock Exchange Plaza posing for a group picture.

When the Swiss students first arrived, one of the first questions was about the drinking age?

“The drinking age in Switzerland is 16 if you want to drink beer, cider or wine. If you want to drink liquor like vodka, then you have to be 18,” said Dominique Peter.

Midweek, during their visit, the American and Swiss students saw The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater on West 44th Street.

“My favorite part of the play was the costumes and the acting, as well as the heart wrenching ending, which was unexpected. The most fun part of the night was being able to see the play with the Swiss, which made it a great bonding experience,” said junior Paulina Plata.

However, not all students agreed.

“I thought the play was really great and the effects were too. But I would’ve rather gone to a real musical because this one was more opera then singing” said Swiss student Jasmin Odermatt.

Before our Swiss guests left, the Americans threw a farewell potluck dinner. Before everyone started to eat, Principal Aimee Horowitz spoke about the exchange and thanked the teachers for organizing this event. Each American student presented his or her exchange student with a school bag containing a journalism water bottle inside.

Overall, the Swiss students seemed to enjoy their immersion into American culture as they practiced their English skills and lived with families on the Island.

Let’s hope the American host students, who are going to Switzerland in April have as much fun.  Even with the language barrier.

Related posts:

1. Eurotrip: Swiss Style
2. Swede Student Reflects on School, NYC, and More
3. You Know You’re in Switzerland When…

Four seniors and five sophomores, as well as Japanese teacher Ms. Natalia Higashide and math teacher Ms. Ho-Ling Lo, boarded a plane on the first day of spring break for a thirteen hour flight to Narita Airport. The students and this reporter were greeted by several of Ms. Higashide’s friends who escorted them to Chiba, a town about two hours out of Tokyo where they would spend the first night.

Because this trip was not a pre-set tour, students had the opportunity to get to know Japanese culture a little better by often speaking with their hosts from Chiba.

The next day in Tokyo we had two guides from Chiba, as well as two more friends who accompanied us to Harajuku and Akihabara, a fashion and electronics neighborhood, respectively. As a result, we were all able to experience first-hand knowledge of the best shopping areas.

“I was extremely excited to visit Akihabara, one of the most electronically advanced places in the world. The pure innovation of both large and mobile products surpasses any form of technology in America to date. It is simply stunning,” said Wayne Vivola.

A Kabuki show, or a traditional Japanese play, afterwards gave the students a cultural experience that day that dated far earlier than modern Tokyo.

The next two days were spent in Kyoto, the Japanese capital before Tokyo, and one of the only cities in World War II that escaped bombing by the American forces. As a result, Kyoto is known as the traditional side of Japan, where one can view buildings and temples that date back over a thousand years.

After taking the super-fast, famous bullet train, students spent their first day in Kyoto at a famous Buddhist temple, walking through the paths of cherry-blossom trees and grave-markers to see an awesome view on the side of a mountain. Shopping afterwards in a tourist area culminated in a dinner at a fancy tofu restaurant.

The second day in Kyoto was a long one.

Our group began the morning at Kinakuji, the Golden Palace, which dates back to the sixth century. We spent the early afternoon at a movie studio, the set of which was that of a traditional Japanese village.

Everyone had the opportunity to go on stage to learn how to swordfight like a samurai after taking pictures in the village. Following lunch at the movie studio, the group went to Gion, an area which some might remember from Memoirs of a Geisha. Today, Gion is a rather touristy area, but there are still a few geisha walking around every once in a while. The next day the group left for Hakone, a hot springs area. At the hotel a traditional hot springs dinner was served, and that night students had the opportunity to bathe in the hot springs.

“Hakone was an amazing cultural experience. The hotel was completely traditional: food, hot springs, and nature,” said Jeremy Smith.

The next morning and a few cable-car rides later, students boarded a boat that crossed a lake to set a better view of Mount Fuji, the most famous mountain in all of Japan.

They then spent a few hours in Tokyo before heading back to Chiba to spend a night with their host families.

This was the real test of language skills. Several of the families’ English was severely limited, and both sides often had to use dictionaries to communicate.

In the end, the night with the host families was an invaluable experience when it comes to understanding the Japanese culture.

Another cultural immersion the next day came in the form of attending the local Otaki High School for the day.

The group sat in on English and calligraphy classes, toured the school, introduced themselves at an opening ceremony, and visited the castle where the school is built in the courtyard. In English class the group was divided up and spent twenty minutes speaking to Japanese students who were studying English, exchanging ideas about America, Japan, and life in general.

That night in Chiba the hosts held a karaoke farewell party. A fabulous home-cooked dinner was the prelude to a wonderful night with the hosts, having a lot of fun in the Japanese style!

That morning the group was treated tp a bunraku performance, which is traditional court music and dance.

They then spent another hour or so taking pictures with friends before heading off to the airport, where a thirteen hour flight awaited them before arriving home.

This first trip to Japan proved to be truely rewarding.

Related posts:

1. Students Experience Culture and History in Greece and Turkey
2. Students Visit Broadway to see In the Heights
3. Swiss Students In NYC

With a graduating class of its own, our school is hardly new anymore. In fact, with a newer high school that opened up last year on our campus, we haven’t been all that new, anyway. Now, when people ask our students where they go, it’s becoming more and more likely that they will actually have heard of CSI High School for International Studies. Four years have passed, and with that, the school’s reputation has soared.

Now, what will students, parents, and faculty be able to say at open houses, in interviews, to others? The legacy of the Class of ’09 will be rightfully awe-inspiring, but that legacy is also meant to be a precedent. Without the seniors, will the juniors rise to the challenge of becoming role models for the rest of the student body? Will the sophomores be able to handle the stress of junior year? Will the freshmen grow into their own and delve even deeper into the community that is CSI?

Our answer is a resounding yes. The seniors may be gone, but we’re a real school now. An emotional, closely connected school no doubt, but a real school nevertheless. With each graduating class that passes through the new halls of the Jerome Parker Campus, the legacy of our school merely extends further.

A real school, as many have complained in the halls, would never do half the things our school does. However, with all the requirements of a “good school” fulfilled – acceptance into “good” college, high standardized testing scores, limitless opportunities – how can we deny that by being “good” we also fit into the “real” category?

Many argue that a “real” school may not do SMART goals, or have advisory, or require capstone and portfolio projects, but then again, a “real” school may not have produced the students that will graduate from here. How many “real” schools can boast of our accomplishments? Everyone knows them: it’s hard not to have a list of facts about our school in the back of your head at all times for description to curious friends and neighbors who have never even heard of it.

So are we a “real” school now, truly? Of course. Technically we’ve been a real school since day one. But this year more than ever, from moving into a “real” building, to having more PSAL sports teams, more clubs, more class offerings, a senior trip, a prom, and most importantly, a graduation, we have come of age in the world of high school.

Related posts:

1. Rhyming to Your Own Beat – Poetry Slam 2009
2. Sports Briefs December 2009
3. A New Beginning for the Seniors