Student Exchange
Posted by admin on December 17, 2008 under Uncategorized | 
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Student Exchange to Kazan: July, 2007
In July, 2007 eleven high school students along with their two sponsors traveled from B-Cs to Kazan, Russia. Kazan is located some 500 miles east of Moscow, in the state of Tatarstan. This group participated in many daily activities during their home stay including visits to art museums, the Kazan city hall which is closed to local residents, and the University of Kazan founded in 1804. Other highlights include visits to the Raifa Monastery, ancient Bulgar, the Kazan Kremlin and a river cruise on the Volga with multiple stops to ancient villages along the way. When in Moscow the group toured Red Square and St. Basil’s Church.
Our students served as outstanding ambassadors from B-CS, many of whom formed lasting friendships with their counterparts. Sponsors remarked with amazement with the numerous similarities among the students despite living half a world away.
The Russian brothers and sisters visited B-CS in October, 2007 for a two week stay. In addition to visiting Texas A&M University and local Brazos County sites the students experienced a Texas rodeo, a county fair, and a traveling circus. Several state parks were included to allow a flavor of the diverse landscape that we take for granted. Delightful fall weather provided a backdrop for visits to San Antonio and the River Walk, Austin, Fredricksburg, and Marble Falls. The Russian delegation left both happy and exhausted from this two week introduction to Texas and the USA!
Students travel to Russia Kyndal Henicke said Wednesday that one thing stood out about her trip to Kazan, Russia – teenagers are mostly the same whether they live in the United States or across the Pacific Ocean.
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“There were way more similarities in the way we live than differences,” Henicke said, explaining that Russian teenagers like to do the same things that she and her friends do every day. “We’re all the same.” The 16-year-old A&M Consolidated High School junior was among 11 local high school students who recently traveled to Kazan, Bryan-College Station’s Russian sister city. The group returned Sunday after spending two weeks abroad. Each year, local students take part in the exchange program, which is sponsored by the Bryan and College Station city councils. Each council pays $5,000 annually to support the program. Bryan and College Station share three sister cities – Kazan; Greifswald, Germany, and Zuazua, Mexico. The program was developed under President Dwight Eisenhower to promote cooperation among international cities. Next summer, students will travel to Greifswald for two weeks. The students spent $1,000 each to travel to Russia. Each was assigned to a Russian high school student and stayed with that student’s family. In October, the Russian students will come to Bryan-College Station to experience two weeks in the life of an American teenager. While in Russia, the group toured museums, churches, mosques, Kremlin buildings and even Kazan City Hall – a building most Russians are not allowed to enter. The American students applied for the program and were selected after being interviewed by a committee from the Sister Cities program. Other participants were Stephen Nock, Kyle Kenerley, Harrison Balog, Laura Brown, Emily Morgan, Jane McKenzie, Natalie Clark, Jessica Tinker, Dyle Hobson and Dayly Dickinson. Dickinson, a junior at A&M Consolidated High School, said Russia was much more modern than she had imagined it to be. “In history, we learn about Soviet times and how bad it was,” the 16-year-old said. “But it was a mixture of that. On the outside, buildings would not be kept up as well, but on the inside, they were always really nice.” Nock, also a Consol junior, said the hard work of Russian citizens was evident in their efforts to modernize the country. “Russia is probably one of the greatest places I’ve ever been,” he said. “Everywhere you look, you see development and how the country is growing. People are always busy working and trying to get things done to improve the country.” McKenzie, a 16-year-old Consol junior, said she had always wanted to travel abroad, and the program offered the perfect opportunity. McKenzie, who is 3 feet,6 inches tall, said her host family had never seen a little person before. “I learned a lot of new things about their culture, and it was an eye-opener for me,” McKenzie said. “If I hadn’t had this opportunity, I know I wouldn’t have gone. Now I want to go back.” Most of the students, like Henicke, said the most valuable aspect of the trip was the interaction with teenagers just like them. “[It wasn't] just going on vacation and seeing all the tourist spots,” Henicke said. “We got to do that but at the same time, we got to make 12 new friends and see how they lived. Instead of having an outsider’s view, we got an insider’s view to how families lived in Russia.”
Arena Welch’s e-mail address is arena.welch@theeagle.com.
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