Global Relations Club Hosts AFS International Day

The Pine-Richland Global Relations Club hosted its annual AFS International Day on February 20. Four AFS exchange students currently studying at other schools in the Pittsburgh area spent the day at Pine-Richland High School. They each shadowed a Pine-Richland student for the morning, and in the afternoon, presented about their home countries to World Language students. The sessions included cultural facts, personal stories and a comparison of international schooling to the typical American high school experience.

• Pauline Calonne from France presented on French food with a deep dive into cheese, as well as on landmarks and fun facts. She shared specific French expressions and compared them to American idioms, such as "to the 31s" (to the 9s), "raining strings" (raining cats and dogs) and "feeling cockroach" (feeling blue).
   
• Lena Özgül, who is from Turkey, provided an extensive look at Turkish heritage, from the founding father to the traditional Zeybek folk dance. Lana discussed the unique Turkish alphabet and noted that the Turkish language family includes over 35 different languages. She highlighted Turkish foods and desserts, their love of cats, famous celebrities and cultural elements including rugs, tea and apartment living.

• Anton Weidinger is from Copenhagen, Denmark, and brought a mix of fun facts and culture, noting that the United States is 230 times larger than his home country. He highlighted the early working age of 13 for teenagers and also talked about how people walk and bike everywhere rather than rely on cars. His presentation included school traditions, such as wearing costumes on the last day of school, and his love of soccer, specifically FC Copenhagen.
   
• Sophie-Ana Di Tomasso, who is from Montreal, Quebec, focused specifically on Quebec rather than Canada as a whole to highlight its distinct identity as a province. She shared that the French spoken in Quebec is more English-like than it is like the French spoken in France. Sophie-Ana talked about Sugar Shacks used for maple syrup collection, the local love for hockey and famous Quebec food dishes such as poutine and pâté chinois.

During the Q&A sessions, the presenters compared their home school systems to Pine-Richland. In Denmark, students can graduate at 16. Their schedules are not the same every day; for example, school might start at 10:00 am on Mondays and Fridays. They have fewer electives to choose from, but more flexibility to go off campus with the option to leave during lunch or study hall. In Turkey, the weekly class schedule is stricter and students take three overlapping science courses throughout the entire year. In Quebec, students have fewer class choices, but more independence with public transportation. 

Pine-Richland High School’s Global Relations Club offers members the opportunity to learn about diverse world cultures through various activities and monthly meetings in the library featuring globally-experienced speakers. Interested students can join by emailing 26afuller79@prrams.org or 26bdeegan66@prrams.org. Students interested in participating in AFS exchange programs can learn more at https://www.afsusa.org/.