Community welcomes foreign exchange students
Senegalese exchange students arrive at the airport. The Masters community has welcomed our visiting students with open arms, as they join classes, extracurriculars, and overall student life.
May 1, 2023
From March 26, to April 8, four students from the Jiyu Gakuen school in Tokyo, Japan experienced life and classes at Masters. During these two weeks, the students participated in history, art, and forensics classes, sampled different afterschool activities, and went on trips off campus to New York City. Some days, students would go to Bronx Collaborative High School, which is a public school with a Japanese language program. Masters set this cooperative program up so the students could experience a different high school environment and see what is similar, what is different, and to be able to meet a larger array of students.
From April 13, to April 30, 12 students from the Cours Sainte Marie de Hann school in Dakar, Senegal have also experienced life and classes at Masters. Like the Japanese students, the Senegalese students have had on-campus days and off-campus days. They are currently working on a seminar project called “America through Senegalese Eyes.” This project requires the students to do research, observe their surroundings, and conduct interviews to try to understand different things about the Masters School, about Dobbs Ferry, and about the New York area in general. Besides Japan and Sengal, Masters has also hosted students from China, Ireland and Canada over the years.
Robert Fish, Dean of Global Studies, said that this program “helps you understand both what are some things about these different countries’ cultures, but also what are some of the diversities in the way that people from these cultures live and how they’re also all individuals. It creates a lot of interest in the world beyond Masters.” When asked what he hopes this program will achieve, Fish responded that “there’s a lot of things that I hope to achieve when they [the exchange students] come in. I think that actually has a huge impact on our school. So as a baseline, I’d like, before any student here graduates, I’d like them to have had a conversation with at least one or two incoming students from another country, who aren’t full-time students here, and have deeper conversations with a lot of students.”
Fish continued,“The feedback on the program has been extremely positive, which I’ve been very happy about this year. The big thing I’m seeing from the hosts is, how deep the relationship they’ve had with a child, in very pleasant ways, even though it is a big effort to host. From the students, they’ve shared that they’ve really enjoyed it, and that they’ve loved being with the host families,” he said. Like anything, however, Fish explained that there are some challenges with this program, including U.S health regulations and language differences.
“Anyone, when they show up here, is going to need to get vaccination shots. There’s no choice on it… of course it might not feel great. As for the language issue, the language barrier tends to be higher for the Japanese group than the Senegalese group. Of course it does vary from child to child.” He continued, “Some of the kids who are coming from Japan, their English conversational skills are quite high. The Senegalese group that came this year, their English conversational skills are really very strong. But it will vary. And of course, it’s not a native language and they’re not using English all day every day, like students here do,” Fish said.
Even with the language barrier, students have been able to engage in class. “It’s hard for the students to understand everything being said when abstract concepts are being talked about, and when people speak quickly. That being said, both exchanges this year, the kids on the exchange program have actually spoken in open Harkness discussions at a time when the teacher was just saying, ‘Hey, I’ll give you a chance to talk,’ they just joined the conversation, and took notes. So that was really impressive to me,” Fish said.
Sophomore Samantha Weber hosted Sunshine Zhuang, a Japanese exchange student, during her time in the United States. Weber went on the Dominican Republic exchange trip over spring break, and wanted to feel the opposite end of the experience by being a host. Her favorite memories with Zhuang include going to a Yankees game together and watching a Broadway show. “We saw a show called New York, New York, which was very appropriate. We were able to bond and enjoy these activities together regardless of language. It was nice for me too, because I’ve grown up in New York pretty much my entire life and yet when I’m in the city, I feel like a tourist most of the time. So it was nice to be able to get to know my own city better,” Weber said.
Zhuang has always been interested in international exchange. She came to the United States to meet people from different cultures and people who have different values. Zhuang reflected on her time in New York.
She said, “It was like I was dreaming for two weeks. I was fascinated by the Masters program, and I really liked the Bronx. I met a lot of nice people and had a great experience.” When it was time for her to leave to go back home to Japan, Zhuang was very sad, and knew she was going to miss her time in New York. “I almost cried thinking that I would not see the people I met in the United States. Two weeks was way too short.”
Freshman Sarelle Ruby is hosting Oumy Helene-Djouf, a Senegalese exchange student, during her time in the United States. Ruby enjoys playing cards with Helene-Djouf, and listening to French music together. “There are some people that you just click with, and to me, Oumy is that kind of person. The first night that Oumy and I were together we watched one of my favorite shows and couldn’t stop laughing. That experience can take years of friendship to make, but with Oumy, it only took a 45-minute bus ride,” Ruby said. She continued, “Although Oumy and I come from two totally different cultures and different parts of the world, we are actually very similar in that we both share a love for music, TikTok and just hanging out together. I’m gonna miss her so much.”
