MICDS Hosts 18 Students from Argentina

• Armaan Chandak ’24
• Krish Desai ’24
• Shivani Devrapally ’24
• Max Garcia ’24
• Isabel Phillips ’24
• Thomas Woodrow ’24
• Oliver Ashman ’25
• Alexa Doumit ’25
• Joe Intagliata ’25
• Ryan Jan ’25
• Emily Leyland ’25
• Simra Qayyum ’25
• Grace Villagomez ’25
• Alex McCarter ’25
• Avery Henriksen ’26
• Sean Hogan ’26
• Lexie Kummant ’26

In addition to these students, Omkaar Alakkassery ’24 and Sya Hervey ’25, who previously traveled to Argentina in the spring, were also involved in many of the group activities with the exchange students.

Once settled, the fun really began! At MICDS, the exchange students shadowed their American buddies in classes. They visited Lower and Middle School Spanish classes, were announced at an Upper School assembly, and played an international soccer game hosted by the student activity group Manos Unidas. With it being Spirit Week, they also enjoyed some special school traditions: the Senior Boat Race, All-School Pep Rally, Food Truck Friday, Fun Run, Carnival, and Homecoming Dance. During their stay, they also had the chance to attend Homecoming and sporting events.

In their time off campus, they took field trips to several favorite local places: the City Museum, an escape room, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the Arch), and the St. Louis Zoo. They also went places with their host families, such as to Ted Drewes and to a Cardinals baseball game.

Lower School Spanish Teacher Soledad Villagómez described the visit of the Argentine students with our fourth graders: “Our fourth graders asked many questions and practiced many of the ones that they already knew such as ‘What is your name?’ and ‘How old are you?’ They learned what school is like in Argentina, what the currency of Argentina is (pesos), and they learned about a few traditional foods such as facturas (pastries) and a traditional beverage from Argentina, called mate. Finally, students from Argentina showed our fourth-grade students how to dance to a popular song called De Reversa Mami. The students and teachers had a wonderful time!”

In Middle School, the IAE students visited seventh and eighth-grade Spanish classes and our Global Perspectives class. In the Global Perspectives class, they shared about the “American” things they had seen at home on TV or in the movies and were excited to see once in the States. In turn, they were asked to share what influences from Argentina they saw in America. They talked about what surprised them most about life here and about what stereotypes they heard about Argentina while here.

Several of our students took the time to share their reflections on hosting the Instituto Albert Einstein students. Read about their favorite parts of the exchange, what they learned, and about what it was like to communicate with someone from a different country:

• • • Thomas Woodrow ’24: “The exchange went really well. Hosting was definitely a lot more stressful than going to Argentina because of the need to keep up with my schoolwork while also entertaining my exchange student and showing them around St. Louis. I learned a lot about Argentina, specifically about its politics. We had a lot of interesting conversations in both Spanish and English about the different political environments in each country. I also learned how to communicate my ideas more effectively and with less mumbling. My favorite parts were the meals that I had with my exchange student and my family, and I liked talking in the car while driving to different activities. This was a great experience for me. I learned a lot and got to make great friends. “
    • Shivani Devrapally ’24: “I loved the exchange and hosting was a great experience for me. I definitely felt myself improve in the language from the time I was in Argentina this past March to now. I learned so much new vocabulary and I was able to teach my exchange student partner some new English words. We communicated really easily; I think a part of that is because we became really good friends and spent so much time together. I can’t choose a favorite part of the exchange even if I wanted to because our time was filled with so many fun moments that I will never forget.”
    • Simra Qayyum ’25: “My favorite part about hosting was probably seeing the excitement on my exchange student’s face when she saw something brand new to her that is not in Argentina. When we walked into the Homecoming Dance, she was stunned, and it made me realize something so simple and what I see as just a dance they are seeing for the first time ever. She compared everything to a movie, and all of them acted like a child seeing something brand new because they do not have anything similar in a lot of aspects. The exchange really got me out of my comfort zone. I had to stay with a complete stranger for a whole week without meeting them at all before. I had no idea if we would get along or have the same interests or if it would be awkward. I am grateful to have had such a good host family because they made me feel so welcome, and we got along so well. Hosting was better because I was in my own home, but it was also hard because you can’t really tell if they are uncomfortable because you don’t know them extremely well to the point of someone knowing another person their whole life. It was definitely stressful on both ends but worth the experience overall.”
    • Joe Intagliata ’25: “It’s almost hard to put into words how incredible the experience of the exchange was for me. I learned so much during my time in Argentina and made friends during their stay here that will last a long time. While I was there, I learned (apart from authentic Argentinian Spanish) so much about their cultural differences, but this was probably even more apparent here with them. The schedule was definitely the biggest difference, with an extra two hours of school (not to mention the homework) and one less meal than they have in Argentina. The time we all spent together here was unforgettable and great in the way we got to be so close to each other despite such noticeable differences.”
    • Avery Henriksen ’26: “Going on the Argentina exchange trip was an incredible experience that nothing could prepare you for. Mar del Plata, the town we stayed in, was beautiful and filled with beaches and so many sea lions. During the first day of the exchange, it was hard being thrown right into a new schedule, new school, and new family, but I was really grateful that my host was so accommodating and kind. Communicating was really easy because she was almost fluent in English, and if I had any difficulty understanding, she was able to help me right away. I was very surprised by how little school and homework they had. During the school week, we would go to school from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then head to the beach for the rest of the day and meet up with friends later in the night. It also took me a while to adjust to their eating schedule as they would eat dinner at nine o’clock at night while eating little snacks throughout the afternoon. When the Argentinians came back to St. Louis, I was super lucky to be able to host two students. Having the exchange students come during Homecoming was hectic but also provided more activities for them to do during their stay here. Being able to experience the Homecoming dance with them will forever be one of my favorite memories I spent with them as it was their last hurrah before they left to go to New York the next morning. My students and I all loved to shop, so it was fun showing them some of my favorite stores. I also took them to Fright Fest at Six Flags and they had lots of fun going through haunted houses and riding roller coasters. They loved being able to see the Halloween decorations to get a sense of what Halloween is like in America.”
    • Oliver Ashman ’25: “I think that when the exchange students were here, I laughed more in those two weeks than I have laughed in my entire life. I know I will never forget the experience!”

Thank you to Ms. Hamill for organizing this exchange program and to all of our host students and families for making this such a wonderful learning opportunity for the 18 exchange students and all whom they came across while visiting! ¡Qué viaje tan perfecto!