PORTAGE – While Nativity of Our Savior administrators and adult family members managed the paperwork and preparations for a student exchange program, the diocesan school’s students got right to work making friendships.
Since 2017, the Nativity family has participated in the Jump the World student exchange program, which matches Guatemalan grade and junior high school students with host families in private U.S. schools. This affords the traveling youth opportunities for classroom learning, the fun of outdoor recess and sports, and the overall feel of living as a Midwesterner.
Two boys and one girl each arrived this autumn at the Portage school, and quickly made connections based on the commonalities of being a student: curiosity, determination and enjoyment.
“I say, ‘My name is Chris,’ and I tell them a few things that I like,” said Christopher Arrué, 10, who is a part of Beth Franzen’s fourth grade class.
“The students here are full of energy and they like to learn and they are happy. They help me when I am having problems,” he added.
Arrué is a native of Guatemala, a Central American country of about 18 million, which is about 50% Catholic. In the U.S., he resides at the home of classmate Joaquin Venegas, 9.
Fast friends, Arrué and Venegas sat for a conversation on a park bench near the jungle gym, while classmates ran about the playground fixtures or organized ball games.
“I like it because exchange students are usually very nice, they’re nice kids,” said Venegas, who “speaks a little Spanish.” “We ask each other questions and we talk a lot to each other.”
Arrué was complimentary, saying the Venegas’ “house is so beautiful and the family is so good to me.”
In Spanish, Arrué said, “Estoy Feliz,” which means “I’m happy.”
Before long, the two friends joined the greater group of students who wound down their fun in the sun and prepared for the remainder of their day in the school building. Nativity principal Sally Skowronski said many dynamics are at play in the everyday interactions of the youth.
“The presence of exchange students enriches our school community by introducing new traditions and celebrations,” said the administrator. “Exchange students often bring unique talents, perspectives and ideas.”
Like Arrué, Guatemalan native Adriana Cruz, 12, absorbed lessons from books, computers and discussions like a sponge. She collaborated with study partners in Tiara Smith-Steinhoff’s fifth grade class.
“When I don’t understand one word, I write in one notebook and then I search for the word (online), she said.
Cruz continued, “Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s difficult. For example, science is difficult for me. I don’t understand it. But in my school (in Guatemala) I learn more advanced mathematics than here.”
Her English skills are more rudimentary than the two boys from her homeland who are studying at Nativity. Yet, Skowronski believes the young people find ways beyond spoken language to make their time together productive and memorable.
“Even without a shared second language, students develop communication skills and learn non-verbal ways of connecting and promoting social growth,” the principal said.
Teacher Linda Didelot who returned to “her calling, that kept calling,” said she can see how, despite being a tight-knit group, her students are ready to lend a hand and assist a new classmate.
The 25-year public school teacher, who taught at Nativity in the 1980s said her pupils have “have internalized their Catholic education … they believe they are in God’s hands.”
She observed Cruz partnered with a classmate and said such a dynamic is common in the academy-like setting of Nativity. “In their pods our students support each other.”
Thirteen-year-old Gabriel Elizondo is a studious seventh grader whose demure style does not initially betoken someone with an artistic creativity.
But in art teacher Megan Ruge’s second-floor art room, he painted his impression of a toucan, explaining that the bird with a large, colourful beak was an everyday guest in his home country environs, like a cardinal or sparrow would be in Northwest Indiana.
“It’s really neat, because in my art class we have ‘passports’ and the students are going ‘around the world,’” she explained. “The exchange students are actually from where we’re learning about.”
Elizondo stays with the family of Nativity fourth grader Moses Ramirez. His best friend, albeit just five days into his stay in the U.S., is Juan Ramirez, the older brother.
“When I met him, I spoke to him on video call – that was the first time. And we just got to know each other and asked, ‘what activities would you like to do, what movies do you like?” said Juan Ramirez, before lunch. “It’s going pretty well.”
Elizondo said he was eager to be a part of the exchange student experience. “In my (Guatemalan) English class, the teacher said that there is this program that takes kids to the United States, and I wanted to see if I could go, and God gave me the opportunity.”
He said preparations can make the experience a smooth and happy one.
“I’ve been practicing my English for the last few years,” said Elizondo, who like Cruz, is from Guatemala City. “Speaking other languages can open many doors.”
A common thread among the Central and North American youth are values of faith, family and national pride. Though some said things like the weather in the U.S. are a challenge to get used to, each of the Guatemalans said they hoped to stick around the Midwest long enough to see their first snowfall.
Most Jump the World participants spend less than eight weeks in a foreign country. For the three Guatemalans studying at Nativity, their time will be even shorter, as they expect to leave in the weeks leading up to Christmas, called Navidad in Spanish.
Principal Skowronski knows the impact of the new friendships will last through pen pal initiatives and connectedness via computers. She is hopeful that the successful student exchange program will grow.
“It is my desire to continue this partnership for years to come and encourage other schools in our diocese to consider offering this opportunity to their students,” Skowronski said.
Caption: Guatemalan native Christopher Arrué (left), 10, and Portage resident Joaquin Venegas (right), 9, sit on a park bench during recess on Oct. 30 at Nativity of Our Savior school in Portage. Arrué is one of three youths from Guatemala who are being hosted by Nativity families as the students participate in the Jump the World exchange program, which principal Sally Skowronski said is culturally enriching. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)