Davis High School - Olympian Yearbook (Modesto, CA)

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AFS broadens new horizons American Field Service started the year off right. AFS's primary goal was to broaden international understanding by allowing students to live with families of other countries. This year's officers were President Ellie Simi, Vice President Sandy Fields, Secretary Kristi Laughlin, Treasurer Marci Laughlin with the advisors being Iann Ienkinson and Marion Zoodsma. It's fun and exciting to get a group going, said Ellie Simi. She conducted one meeting a month, having one person who had traveled abroad speak at each meeting. She wanted to get more people involved and aware of foreign countries. They planned and executed many fundraisers during the year. This money supported students who wanted to travel to foreign countries and those who came here from abroad. AFS members were given the great opportunity to learn about other countries. These students are flexible and adventurous, but mainly, they have allowed their lives to be shared with people of different cultures and languages. - Kerri Coulter AFS: KFRONT ROWD Shane Kao, Mike Toyryla, Sandy Fields, Kiki Tzagarakis, Analisa Mohr, CSECOND ROWJ Marion Zoodsma, advisorg Susan Canevaro, Shari Tackett, Kristi Laughlin, Iulie Guerrini, Tera Grow, CTI-IIRD ROW? Iann Ienkinson, advisory Ellie Simi, Lena Langstrom, Marci Laughlin, Licia Pope, Michelle Baker, Mike Woodward, Donald Rowan. Ellie Simi and Lena Langstrom engage in a little fun during the ice cream social. Eating his ice cream, Richy Strauss takes a break during the meeting.

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Students explore countries Four students had the privilege of visiting foreign countries this year. Ellie Simi, one of the lucky few, went abroad through the American Field Service. For 10 weeks she was a big sister to two girls ages 13 and 9 while staying with a family in Aranjuez, Spain. Ellie enjoyed being treated just like one of the family. She was never treated harshly or like an outsider. She was therefore able to learn quite a bit about Spain's history and customs. Their customs, Ellie stated, were different from what I was used to. For instance here when you meet someone you shake his hand , but in Spain you kiss his cheek. Ellie was also allowed to drink during her stay. She explained, Going out with friends and relatives was a big priority. When asked what she liked best about Spain, she fondly replied, How friendly the people were ! At the end of Iune, Kristi Laughlin's destination was Niigata City, Niigata. She was greeted and shared a home with an extended family, one where the grandmother is also a part of the household. Traveling with my family in Tokyo, Disneyland, and Kyoto, the oldest city in japan, were the highlights of my visit, explained Kristi. During her first month in Iapan, she attended a private girl's school six days a week. Her last month was spent traveling and absorbing the sights. Kristi enjoyed the way she was welcomed. She stated, I was treated like a star. Many japanese just love foreigners, especially Americans. Everybody stared or giggled and if they were brave enough they would ask for my autograph. According to her, Iapanese people are very shy, polite and generous people. One of their customs is the giving of gifts. Not to be left behind, Marci Laughlin traveled to the romantic city of Athens, Greece. For two weeks she lived with a family in an area entitled Lofos Skooze. She stated that the Greeks are just emerging into the modern world. They are a very emotional, but very proud people. They are fun-loving, warm and honest. The Greeks had a large generation gap where the parents held onto the old ideas, while youth were moving towards modern concepts. The greatest time of her visit was a four day bus trip through northern Greece and two weeks on the island of Lefkas. The rest of her time was spent - Ke l' walking either to town, the park or the store in Athens. The food was very good, but they ate too much, Marci explained. According to her everything was cooked in olive oil, and they ate much fruit bread, pasta, lamb and feta cheese. To add a little twist, Marci found herself eating her meals at three p.m. and at midnight. Lena Langstrom, exchange student from Ostersund, Sweden, came to the United States speaking very little English, but as the year progressed it improved a great deal. I come to the United States because I have heard about it from my friends that it is going to be an exciting year. Lena missed her friends and being able to stay out later. In Sweden the school Lena attends is the same size as Davis. The school system consists of eight to 12 different classes a week, but each week is the same. One class period is 40 minutes with a 10 minute break between each class. Unlike Davis they don't count tardies. Taking the bus or cycling is how Lena transports herself from place to place. In United States, Lena exclaimedfeverybody here has a car! rri Coulter, Teri Bracken, Dionn Martin