by Julie O’Melia
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| Julie O'Melia hangs at Faneuil Hall out with her Thai counterpart Rika. photo by Lauren McCarthy |
It’s no
secret that the students of Woburn High are outgoing and are always up to
something new. Everywhere you look students are making the front page of The Daily Times for outstanding academic
achievements, winning huge games and putting on amazing performances. Not only
are students at Woburn High involved, they are also always up for a new
adventure. That being said, this past April the students were lucky enough to
take part in something worldly.
The
Thai-Student Exchange was set up through the Woburn Public School System with
huge help from staff members such as Ken Blazka. The purpose of this “exchange”
was for the students at Woburn High to get the opportunity meet students from
the other side of the world, and learn from them. Approximately fifteen Thai
students were assigned to various students that were to act as “ambassadors”
from the Freshmen Mentoring program at the high school. The exchange students followed their
“ambassadors” around for the week and even got to spend some time with them
outside of school. More students from Thailand were participating in an
exchange just like the one at Woburn High, except at they were at the Joyce
Middle School. All of this would lead up to a fun-filled field trip into Boston
on Friday, and a special performance was put on at the end of the week.
The
students were from all over Thailand and many had not met each other until they
left for The United States. The students were traveling all over America and
were to stay for the month. New York was first on their list, and Boston was
the second stop. They thought it would be a great way to better their stay in
America by giving the kids the opportunity to meet some new people.
Those that
were “ambassadors” thought the experience was amazing, and felt lucky to have
been chosen to take part in it. Junior Shannon Busa was one of the Freshmen
Mentors that was assigned a student, Jenny, who she bonded well with and will
miss very much.
“The
experience was amazing. Jenny was so fun and outgoing. She taught me all about
Thai culture and I’m glad that I was a part of this program,” exclaimed Busa. “I
would love to do it again!”
Not only
were the students fun and outgoing, they were also extremely smart and
courageous. One can hardly imagine how nerve-wracking it would be to travel to
another part of the world with people you haven’t met before. The students
brought a sense of optimism to Woburn High that they too could broaden their
horizons as much as the Thai students.
The real
fun started at the end of the week when the students were brought into Boston
for the day. History teacher Ken Blazka, gave the students a taste of Bostonian
culture by visiting Bunker Hill and The Constitution. After that it was time for lunch and
exploring at Faneuil Hall. The Thai student’s fashion sense was impeccable, so
they enjoyed strolling through the various shops such as Urban Outfitters and
American Eagle.
The most memorable moment of the
whole experience had to be the Thai students performance at the very end of
their stay in Woburn. They performed a self-choreographed traditional Thai
dance for both the high school and middle school. The amount of effort put into
the performance truly showed the compassion of the students, and their respect
for everyone they meet. Even those who
weren’t part of the program felt that they benefitted from the experience as
well. Junior Jackie Spolidoro personally loved the experience.
“I thought
it was really cool how they came all the way from Thailand to stay here. I talked to a few different girls in my classes and
they were just so nice,” shared Spolidoro.
To cap off
the exchange the ambassadors and their students watched Frozen and ate pizza together before seeing them off. It was a sad
goodbye because so many friendships were made. A lot was learned from each
other, and so many memories were made. The Thai Student Exchange with Woburn High
was truly a beautiful thing.
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