International Scholars
Written by Ava McGovern
Dominican dance music fills the room. Smiles are spread across everyone's faces. In the front of the classroom stands two incredibly diverse and talented women dancing away together - a rare yet refreshing sight.
Our journalism group got the opportunity to interview our three newest additions to our high school: Ms. Bianca Castro, Ms. Rocio Canqui, and Mr. Montasar Mahmoud, who are shadowing teachers Brancazio, Williamson, and Kington, respectively. Their goal is to understand American teaching - specifically English - and experience the United States.
Our interview began with the obvious questions: where are you from, and what is your career back home? Ms. Rocio Canqui is a native of the beautiful Bolivia. Mr. Montasaur Mahmoud is living among the pyramids in Egypt. Ms. Bianca Castro lives in the Dominican Republic, home to the infamous Punta Cana. To all of our surprise, each scholar is an English teacher, which is a foreign language class back home.
(Fulbright)
There are 22 scholars in total at the Fulbright Scholar Program through Kent State, these 3 being a part of that group. According to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Scholar Program awards 8,000 people from the United States and 160 additional countries. Kent State has been an impressive host, Mr. Montasaur explains. In a follow-up email, he writes that Kent arranged for the driving company IREX to take them in “private and luxurious cars” to and from Kent and the high school. They are staying at the Kent State Hotel and Video Conference Center. At Kent, they are taking pedagogy - the method and practice of teaching - and technology classes that Montasaur “enjoys so much.” These classes help to improve themselves as educators, which they are eager to take back home.
We were curious about their home countries and what each was like. Bianca explained how her hometown in the Dominican Republic is an incredibly happy city. She smiles, “If you go there, you’re going to see people dancing everywhere.” Everyone tells their life stories and expects whoever they encounter to do the same. The Dominican is two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Wrapping it up, she noted, “Dominican people are really happy and loud.”
Rocio disclosed that her country was very poor. Despite this, they hold numerous festivals to unite the community. Her favorite is Gran Poder. The festival is a cornucopia of music, dancing, and people. The Bolivia Travel site writes that there are approximately 30,000 dancers among the 60 folk dance groups. That is quite the event if you ask me. Her country has one of the seven World Wonders, the largest salt desert, but we will get to that later. She also illustrates - and to much of my surprise - that her city is the highest in the world, making it very cold. When someone asks me to think of Bolivia, I think of beaches, but that’s not always the case. The more you know!
Egypt, the home of the pyramids, was so cool to learn about from a native. He talks about how everyone there is super friendly and loves to make jokes. Cairo, Egypt’s capital city, reinforces this happy, lively feeling. “If you live in [Cairo], you think that people never go to bed. The city is always crowded, day and night.”
Delving deeper into the specifics of each of their schools and classrooms, we started by asking about class size. To our surprise yet again, each teacher has about 40-45 students, all fitting into a classroom similar to the size of what an Aurora student is used to. Something super cool to note is the huge difference in movement from class to class. Americans are used to the students squeezing into the halls and entering the teacher’s room. In all 3 of these countries, it’s the opposite! The students stay in one classroom all day and the teachers move from class to class. They use a little cart to take all of their belongings. Something they all liked was how we do it, and how that allows the teacher to add their personality to the decorations of the classroom. “I have to share the walls with the other teachers [and] only get a tiny part,” Bianca admires as she looks around the room.
American schools allow for much more autonomy for the students. None of the interviewees’ schools have electives. They all stick purely to the curriculum. In regards to the dress code, they are pretty strict. The typical outfit is khakis with a polo or shirt in a class color. Montasar said that their dress code is more strict for girls. This statement remains true in both Bolivia and the Dominican Republic. No skirts are allowed for Rocio’s girls, whereas no crazy nails or earrings for Bianca’s. Interestingly enough, none of the students complain about the dress code.
Their school day also looks significantly different than the one Aurora students go through every day. Some of their school days are split into halves. Rocio has a school where high schoolers attend from 8 am to 1 pm, then an elementary student shift starting at 2 pm and ending at 6 pm. Likewise, Bianca has shifts from 7:45 to 12:50, then from 2 to 5:30. Montasar deviated from the two female educators. His school day started at 7:45 with a morning assembly including exercises, a zen session, and ending it with a salute to their flag. Classes begin at 8 a.m., going through 1:30 p.m.
Now, you know how, here in the States, every meal is our favorite meal and there is not a “most important” one? Well, in all 3 countries, lunch is the most important meal of the day. The splits in the school day are largely because lunch deserves the hour+ that is given. While Egypt doesn’t have this split, lunch is still super important.
On the topic of food, we asked them what they would want us to try if we were to ever attend their home countries. Montasar sat there and finally responded, “I need a whole day to answer this question!” Montasar explained that Egypt has “the best food in the world”. He wrote out all of the different spellings of the food (which all started with the letter K?) and described their ingredients to us. His personal favorite was Koshari.
Rocio made a huge point about how important rice is to her home country… and to her. She even made fun of the States and exclaimed, “Where is the lunch? Where did all of the rice go?” She also complemented the fruit of her country, saying you’d never find more flavorful fruits than in Bolivia.
In the Dominican, rice was also very important. Bianca’s favorite dishes are Los Tres Golpes and La Bandera. Although breakfast isn't as important, Los Tres Golpes is a delicious breakfast dish. La Bandera is the typical lunch for the Dominican, consisting of rice, beans, and chicken.
There was so much more to understand about their countries. Rocio related her city, La Paz, to the New York of Bolivia. This city also has the highest altitude in the world, making it very cold. While she makes it clear that her whole country is beautiful, one of her favorite parts is the World Wonder reflecting salt desert - Salar de Uyuni. Harrison Mullin summed up our expressions when he said “Wow”. All of our mouths dropped when she showed us a picture of it. She then showed us some of her country's music, the very upbeat make-you-wanna-dance type.
Inspired by her, Montasar showed us a picture Koshari , as well as a beautiful ceremony called the Pharaoh's Golden Parade. This festival’s purpose was to honor the ancient kings and queens as the mummies were transferred to a new location. It was a truly incredible ceremony to watch, so I can’t even imagine how amazing that must’ve been for a native. He also reminded us of the amazing pyramids of Giza, another World Wonder.
Finally, Bianca showed us some of her favorite parts of her home country. She showed us a few of her previously mentioned dishes, but the thing she was most excited about was the music. She showed us a couple of songs in different genres: pop, folk, and more! When one of the dancing songs came on, she and Rocio danced in front of the room. As aforementioned, it was one of the most unique things to watch happen in a classroom. Bianca laughed, “You guys don’t dance enough in the States!” In my opinion, they are right.
We wrapped up our interview with each of these amazing people telling us what they love most about being here in America. “Everything!” they all said. In specifics, Bianca summed it up perfectly, “Everyone is so kind, greeting everyone with a smile!”
Getting the chance to meet such talented, intelligent people was truly such a rewarding experience. Their stories deserve to be heard. Good luck to them all back home, and wherever life takes them! And remember, dance whenever you can :)
Some fun pictures from our interview:
*All images/ GIFS from Google