On the evening of March 30, 10 Senegalese students and three of their teachers trundled their luggage into the Library Conference Room where they met their host families. Three weeks later, in the same location, they would be saying farewell to these families in sorrow. For both the students and faculty from the Cours Sainte Marie de Hann, Masters’ partner school in Senegal, this was their first time ever visiting the United States. They all agree that they were most excited for an integral part of American culture: the food.

Senegalese tenth grade student Beatrice Gomis chose to venture to the United States to experience life in an American high school, while also to explore New York City.

“Here, in America, I’ve learned to accept people in whatever they can be. I have learned not to judge other people because I do not know them,” Gomis said. “My favorite part in American culture is the way people accept the difference and are more free in their way of thinking.”

Maariama Koulibaly agreed that although she enjoyed her time in America and on the Masters campus, she saw a lot of differences between Cours Sainte Marie de Hann and Masters.

“The differences are that we don’t have the Harkness table in the classroom, and we have a lot fewer discussions because of that. Also, the teachers interact with the students here more than they do at home,” Koulibaly said.

History teacher and leading coordinator of the trip Dr. Robert Fish wanted both American and Senegalese students to understand each other’s countries and cultures better by the end of the trip.

“I definitely wanted the Masters students to get to know kids from another country, specifically from Senegal. I wanted to open up the ideas of the variety of different experiences that people from Senegal have, and the different viewpoints that kids from Senegal might have, even if they’re all from the same school,” Fish said. “The largest thing I was hoping to engender in the Masters students was excitement for learning about Senegal, not only that in particular but also Africa in general. I wanted them to know that Africa was a very real place, it’s a very dynamic area, it’s an area where there are all kinds of things going on beyond what you might read in the newspaper.”

From singing to different communities on multiple occasions to rock climbing in New Jersey, the Senegalese students not only witnessed all aspects of a typical American high schooler’s life, but also were able to play an active role in the Masters community. It was a wonderful learning experience for both students at Masters and their visitors.