January 11th, 2017: Kicking off the New Year!

© Webb Chappel

It is rare that a high school student gets to have the chance to hear a Pulitzer prize-winning author speak to them, especially in a group as small as I got to experience in the Garland theater. It was just surreal to have the opportunity to hear Viet Thanh Nguyen speak to our small school. Viet shared a lot on the stereotyping of Asian culture. It was really impactful what Viet was saying although I couldn't connect to it personally. The part of his speech that was most poignant to me was his discussion of Hollywood and the way Asians, especially Vietnamese, are portrayed in cinema. It was truly exciting to see my appreciation for film and this great lecture overlap. In my film history class, we talked a lot about the misrepresentation of various cultures and I loved the opportunity to hear a professional's side of how Hollywood twists people's culture around to use it for their own benefit. Viet talked about the movie Apocalypse Now and how the director never showed the culture of the Vietnamese people or even let them say a word when it was a war on their own soil. I absolutely loved this experience and can't wait to attend more great events this year!

November 17th, 2016: Stephen McAndrew and the Emergency International Red Cross

Stephen McAndrew was a fabulous speaker and I was really appreciative of the opportunity to hear him speak. As a student who's going through the college application process, I was very surprised and relieved to hear that he had no intentions of working in the Red Cross. I was inspired by the fact he didn't have a set path and just started volunteering with the Red Cross to do something good for humankind. I was moved by his compassion and empathy. Mr. McAndrew really helped to bring to light very serious issues that we have had in our world regarding the refugee and Ebola crisis. Despite such solemn topics, Mr.McAndrew was able to bring some humor and joy into the room. His message of unity was really prominent to me. I now believe that unity in times of trouble rather than disconnect is the answer. I was so glad to listen to such an international superstar who has interacted with a huge variety of cultures. 

November 9th, 2016: Lunch with Nirayama High School Students

Japanese students visited Poly from Nirayama High School and I got the exciting chance to eat lunch and converse with these students for a short while. I was really happy to talk to these students that really were also excited to share their culture with us. They tried to help us pronounce their names right and also tried to teach us some fun Japanese words. Although I can't even remember any of the words they tried to teach us, I really appreciated their efforts. We had Nirayama's Cheer Leader sitting at our table and he explained the significance of his armband to us. It has their school logo which are the horns of a dragon because the translation of their high school in English has the word Dragon. We watched him tie his red wraps as seen in the picture which seemed really complicated. He was very excited to perform for us and we couldn't wait to see our new friend lead his fellow students. They sang us their school song and we were quite impressed and gossiped about wanting our own school song. I really loved getting to hear about their experiences at their school and definitely wished I had the space to host a student! I can't wait for our next group of exchange students to come visit. :)

October 12th, 2016: Celebrating the Universal Language of Fútbol

Pelé's Famous Bicycle Kick

This past Wednesday, I had the fortunate opportunity to join a viewing of Pelé: The Birth of a Legend (2016) with one of the producers of the film. I was never much of a soccer player myself, but I was captivated by Pelé's story and skills. The movie transported us to Brazil and took us through the same journey that the Brazilians experienced with their World Cups. I was really able to connect with the movie and feel the sorrows when the Brazilians lost their 1950 world cup. This connection at the beginning of the movie allowed me to embark on a journey with the characters and be more invested in Pelé's success. When the Brazilians went to the 1958 World Cup with Pelé, it was fascinating to see how soccer was the universal language that all these different countries spoke. Whether you speak German, Spanish, or French, you can appreciate a great soccer player like Pelé.

October 9th, 2016: A Day at the Races

Brunch at Frontrunner's

Waiting for the horses!

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to go the horse races at Santa Anita racetrack with our exchange student from Italy, Caterina. The other GIP students were Charlie, Maya, and Katie. We asked her a lot of questions on the way there and the most popular one was if she has seen horse racing before. She mentioned that she has seen a little bit with her host family because they own some horses. Caterina was excited to see the races because they didn't have anything like it in Italy. Once we got our tickets and entered into the track, the racehorses were all parading around in a circle for the potential betters. We got to get up close and personal with the horses. We were particularly shocked by just how small the jockeys were! As the racehorses approached the track, we moved towards our seats before the races started. The horses were all being filed into the gate when we arrived so we stood right up next to the railing for the best view of the race. After we consulted our programs, we got excited and practically were leaning over the railing to see the horses race past us. As the horses raced past for the first time, we noticed an ambulance flying behind them. We wondered if the ambulance was for the horses or the jockeys; either way, we decided we would love to have that job. Since we saw our first race up close and personal to the horses we decided to go up to the 5th floor to have brunch at the FrontRunner restaurant. The FrontRunner had all glass on the same side as the racetrack so it was a picture-perfect view for brunch. While at brunch, we were able to do a lot of people watching and see how enthusiastic and passionate some people got about the races, some were full out yelling in the hopes their horse would win. Astonished by the passionate yells, we decided to join in and we passed the program around the table choosing our own horses for the next race. We were disappointed when none of our horses won and resumed our brunch conversation. We learned a lot about Caterina. One of the most interesting facts is that they have to go to high school for 5 years! We couldn't even imagine having another year after this one. Caterina constantly would slip into Italian and would apologize because she was so used to speaking with her friends. As Global Scholars, we were really intrigued about how Caterina got the opportunity to come here through AFS. Apparently, she made a list of the top 10 countries she wanted to go to through AFS. The US was her top choice and some of the others included South Africa and Russia. I really admired her because it's a very bold decision to choose to take a year abroad. As the afternoon heat settled in, we decided it was a good time to leave. Yet just as we were leaving, we ran into Coach Beerman! Coach Beerman told us he had just arrived at the races. He mentioned that he owns a few race horses and was here today to see some of his trainer's horses compete. Overall, it was a great day and I loved spending time to get to know Caterina better and can't wait for this upcoming year.

September 15th, 2016: Capstone Project Update

One of the ranch dogs in Baja

After some meetings with Ms. Diederich and Mrs. Ramirez, I have a clearer idea of my capstone project. As you may or may not have previously read, I had an amazing time in Baja and learned a lot about sustainability and ranchero culture. For my Capstone Project, I decided to focus on the how having a symbiotic relationship with animals promotes sustainability. In order to preserve the practice of sustainability, it is essential that we maintain a balance with animals. We have to have a symbiotic relationship, which means that both parties are getting something and one isn't just exploiting the other. I want to share this information with students in either the Middle or Lower school because it is important to plant seeds about ideas of sustainability early on. I want to show them that they have the key to sustainability: believing you are a part of the natural system not above it.

September 12th, 2016: The First GIP Event of the Year

A Nicaraguan kid who a Poly student formed a relationship with

After a wonderful summer of unforgettable experiences abroad, it was hard to come back to the lackluster routine of school. Thankfully, I got to escape the routine to present to my peers and their parents my experiences in Baja. Our first Global Initiatives Program gathering was a presentation by students from all four GIP trips on how their perspective on the respective country they visited was changed.  I was really fascinated with how the students on the Nicaragua trip forged unforgettable relationships with kids despite having a language barrier. The students presenting on Nicaragua also created a video which provided that allowed us to peek into what they called an indescribable and unforgettable experience. Next, the stage was given to the Cuba students. The Cuba students really did an effective job at sharing how their views on the effects of communism were 

Group of Poly students in Cuba

changed. I was really enlightened by their presentations which showed how important art and the media were in their influence of politics. One student shared an anecdote that was particularly touching to me. He noted that after a long day's worth of walking he just wanted to find a spot to sit down and rest his legs. He found a nice shady spot up against the side of a building, only to find his rest interrupted by a policeman asking him to stand up because he was disrespecting the people which the building honored. I found this really striking because it is completely different in our own country.  After the 

The Baja trip students and I (far left) holding the puppies from the ranch

Cuba students showed us our misconceptions about Cuba, the Baja students came up and we shared our personal anecdotes about the Baja trip. You can see my previous blog post for more specific details on the Baja trip. I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to share my experiences with a group. I was really excited about to find out the Baja trip will be offered next year. My contribution to the group presentation was a small blurb on surfing and shamanism. Finally, came the very powerful presentation from the Cambodia and Vietnam students. I was left in shock hearing about the places they visited and the people they met. From visiting the killing fields to the breathtaking Angkor Wat,

Photo of Angkor Wat taken by a Poly student

 I was amazed at the incredible and powerful things they were able to experience. The Cambodian students presented in multiple mediums and one of the students wrote four very powerful poems based off of pictures that his peers took. These poems were then followed by some very artistic films created by students of the trip. I was impressed with the various ways the students were able to communicate their experiences to us. Overall, I was very grateful to have the opportunity to share my global experiences and hear about the global experiences of my friends. I was happy to be a part of the first GIP event of the year and I can't wait for the many more events to come.