The AFS students hosted info tables in the cafeteria and talked to other students about their countries.
Nov. 26, 2019 -- The 10 Heights High AFS Exchange students gave presentations in 60 classes about their culture, school, family, country, climate, music & dance, government, food and other aspects of their lives back home.
The presentations were part of International Education Week, November 18-22.
The Heights students were interested in hearing the exchange students talk about the experience of traveling to a totally different country to learn about a new culture and to become fluent in a different language. The American students asked many questions and each class had lively discussions about cultural similarities and differences. One of the AFS students taught the classes a traditional dance from Tanzania. Many conversations centered on the differences between the schools in other countries and Heights High.
Nurayda Salum and Munira Vuai from Tanzania (L)
“The AFS students worked really hard on their presentations and loved hearing the American students ask questions and become more aware of their cultures,” said AFS Club Advisor Becky McDonald. “The interactions also helped build relationships between the exchange students and the Heights students.”
Justin Hons teaches a Government class to seniors and was one of the teachers who invited the AFS students into his classroom. “The Heights students sat and listened, enthralled by the stories of cultures and traditions different from their own,” he said. “It was amazing to sit back and watch as Heights students asked questions, shared common family experiences, and compared teenage life across the world!”
Annas Khoirul from Indonesia (L)
The AFS students also hosted tables at the Canterbury Elementary School’s Multicultural Night.
International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.
This year’s AFS exchange students:
Annas Khoirul, Indonesia
Bai Jonissa Bugat, The Philippines
Diadji Diawara, Mali
Joyce Manuella Kenmegne Tagne, Cameroon
Luana Westphal Vieira, Brazil
Maria Nives Labanca, Italy
Munira Vuai, Tanzania
Nadia Zampieri, Italy
Nurayda Salum, Tanzania
Nicolas Aguilar Munoz, Spain
AFS is an international Exchange program was founded by the WWI and WWII American Field Service ambulance drivers who wanted to prevent future conflict through cultural exchange and understanding. The organization's goal is to create a more peaceful and just world.
For information about hosting a student next school year or sending a student abroad for an exchange, see the
AFS website.