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Bahrain-US Exchange CSI High School hosts a historic exchange visit from Bahrain—the first time that high school students have come on a US government-sponsored exchange visit. For some of our students, life will definitely be different during the month of February. On January 29, four girls and one teacher from Bahrain came to the United States to take part in a cultural exchange as part of the BRIDGE program sponsored by iEARN and the U. S. State Department. Faten Mattar, Reem Almajed, Reem Almealla, Dana Alhaddad, and their teacher Ms. Amani Amer each arrived by plane through JFK airport into the open arms of Mrs. Kaplan, Mrs. Horowitz, Ms. Zinn, and their host families: the Saulong’s, Geissler’s, Shojai’s, and Kwakye’s. However, don’t be fooled, some of the girls have been in America before. “I have been in America four times already, but this is my first time in New York,” Faten said in an energetic voice. She goes to Canada to visit her sister who is studying there. She enjoyed shopping at the tourist store and also Lacoste. “This is my first time in America period!” said Dana. Likewise, Reem Almealla has never been to New York either. “I have been in America two times but this is my first time in New York” said Reem Almajed. She visited Los Angeles and Florida on vacation. For over one month now, Mrs. Kaplan’s advisory has been planning their arrival by setting up trips, a documentary film about our school and a slide show on American teens. From reading speeches to operating the projector, each student in 003 Advisory took part. “We are honored to have you at our school!” said Michelle Shed at the welcoming ceremony held in The Green Dolphin Lounge. After the ceremony, students and the four Bahraini girls were treated to a trip to Snug Harbor, one of the most historic places on Staten Island. While there, students learned about Staten Island’s history and also learned a bit about the history of ancient China in the Chinese Scholars Garden. During their first week here, the girls have already been to Manhattan with their host families and cannot wait to go back. “Manhattan is our favorite part of America so far,” said Reem Almajed and Faten simultaneously. All four girls cannot wait to experience all that the students have planned for them. This past weekend, the girls, Ms Amer with Mrs. Kaplan and Ms. Zinn went to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty, followed by shopping in Soho and dinner in the Village. Coming up is a trip to the Jewish Heritage Museum, dinner in China town at its oldest restaurant at Mott Street, a trip to the United Nations, a Saturday matinee to see Hairspray, and more shopping. All four girls have soaked up plenty of American culture already while here. By the time they leave NYC, they will have experienced plenty of American culture to talk about in Bahrain. A Teenager’s Life in Bahrain When we are home, at around 2:00 PM, the whole family gathers for lunch. Then, we start doing our homework for the next day or study for tests or exams. In the evening some teenagers stay at home and chat on the Internet or watch television, while others prefer going out with family or friends. In most families, children don't have a particular bedtime, but they also can’t stay up all night. Weekends for students are a break from school, so we normally spend it doing something we like. Most teenagers would rather hangout with their friends and go to a movie, then later, get together for a meal or gather at each other’s houses. Most teens don’t have a curfew, but we know when to be back home. Being a teenager and living in Bahrain is a wonderful thing. If you get the chance to visit Bahrain don’t hesitate, and I promise you won’t regret it! Hosting an Exchange Student It is hard to have a friend leave you after bonding with them for three weeks but, that is the small price we will have to pay for participating in this foreign exchange program. It will be a pessimistic day when we will have to say goodbye to our Bahraini guests who have grown to be our friends. Spending each day with Dana, Faten, Reem, Remy, and Mrs. Amani, their teacher, has taught me that strangers from different lifestyles can become close to each other in a short period of time. Hosting a student from Bahrain has been a rewarding experience; it has allowed me to learn about the life a Bahraini teenager has. I chose to apply for this hosting exchange program because it would further my cultural understanding of Bahrain directly, by spending three weeks with five natives of the country. Learning about worldwide cultures interests me because I like to travel and see places that are drastically different from where I live and am used to. My expectations were realistic, I knew that the four Bahraini teenagers would be accustom to a different lifestyle in school and at home; but I kept in mind that they would also be teenage girls and that we would share interests and opinions about everyday life. Meeting them has shown me proof that people all over the world are similar and can grow to become lifelong friends. The trips that we attended together gave us a chance to learn about each other through experiencing American culture. At Snug Harbor we saw a contemporary art exhibit that taught us about the history of Coney Island. We also saw Snug Harbor's Chinese Scholar Gardens which were beautiful and traditional. At the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour we did not let the rain stop us from viewing the gift America received from France, the Statue of Liberty and in taking statistics at Ellis Island, an essential part of America's history. "Hairspray" was the first Broadway performance for both Remy and I, and we both enjoyed everything about it. It was entertaining yet still taught about segregation, an important issue in history. Seeing a Broadway musical was something we were both were looking forward to for a long time because we both enjoy music and dance so, it was a wonderful opportunity that we saw it together for the first time. In Bahrain Remy is involved in Model United Nations and I believe it is a beneficial program for students to be involved in. We appreciated the trip to the United Nations where we were able to see the rooms where all the conferences are held. The Bahraini girls said that Manhattan is so fast paced compared to Bahrain where the motto is "take your time, it is not going anywhere." We went to the Rockefeller Center, Hard Rock Cafe, and Times Square. They had never seen buildings that high and enjoyed the busy streets of Manhattan. We took the ferry back to Staten Island and watched New York City out of the window during the ride. In Staten Island Remy thought the houses were adorable and unlike the houses in Bahrain. She explained to me that in Bahrain houses are usually one or two floors high with a flat roof and that most families had a live-in maid. I was surprised to learn that just like Staten Island, Bahrain is so small that in one day you could drive from one end to the other. The day we saw "Hairspray" was also the day that the blizzard had started. It was a special day for us because it was the first time Remy had ever seen snow. When we walked outside of the theater Remy had an amazed and eager look on her face, she thought the snow was beautiful. The next day when the snow was deep on the ground we went into our front yard to shovel the snow. Remy was excited to shovel snow for the first time and soon realized it was difficult in the cold that she was not used to. She wanted to make a snowman and that was what we did during advisory in school. There was a contest between advisories to make the most creative snowman. These are memories we will keep forever because some were new but all of them were done together. Remy brought my family presents from Bahrain that are amazing. She brought traditional dresses, marashs which are used during weddings and important events to spray rose water from, and other household items. We enjoyed the dresses and we compared them to the clothing from other countries' cultures, like Iran and Poland. The presents are authentic and reflect the Bahrain culture; they will be a reminder of what participating in this program has taught us.
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