Fairbury Cropsey High School - Crier Yearbook (Fairbury, IL)

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The Dimitris Zervas Family of Larissa, Greece. From Cropsey To Greece? Americans Abroad, a branch of the American Field Service, is a program which sends American students to other countries for one summer or an entire year, to learn their customs, life style, and promote international understanding. For a short time, he becomes a member of another family and nation. Teri Elliott spent the summer of 1972 with the Dimitris Zervas family of Larissa, Greece. Her father owned a cinema, a small farm, and a camping area. She had two sisters-Christina, who is 16 and attends a gymnasium, and Lily, who is 22 and attends a university in Innsbruck, Austria, where she studies architecture. Teri, her two sisters, and her parents, Dimitris and Anastasia, spent most of the summer at the camping ground. During this time, Teri worked at the canteen and market on the camping grounds, and tried to learn a little Greek. She often spent evenings with her sisters and friends on the beach or dancing. She also climbed Mt. Olympus, spent one week in Athens, five days touring southern Greece, and a week in Istanbul, Turkey. Her most memorable experiences were shopping with her father, learning Greek dances, mountain climbing, seeing the Acropolis, and making friends from all over the world. Teri hopes to return to Greece in the near future to see her family and friends, and to go to Colombia, South America, to sec Ruben Giraldo. Christina, Teri’s Greek sister, will be an AFS student to the U.S. during 1973-74, and Teri hopes to visit her while she’s here. She also hopes to continue working with AFS. When asked to comment on her experience she said, “AFS is the greatest program that I know of. Being a representative to Greece and a host sister to Ruben has taught me more than words can explain. AFS has given me friendship, love, understanding, and a want to travel. I urge anyone who is interested to get involved; the rewards arc tre mendous!” Teri and Ruben 9

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The Gary Elliott family: Mr. Elliott, Ruben Giraldo, Mrs. Elliott. Tim, Teri, Mark, Matt. From Mountains To Plains American Field Service International scholarships is a program which brings students every year to the United States of America. On a term of one year, the student learns what it’s like to be an American. Living with a family, the student gets to know the different styles of life, as well as the way of understanding between the people. From Medellin, placed in a green and warm valley in the Andes Range in Colombia, came our AFS student, Ruben Giraldo. His American home was with the Gary Elliott family. At F.C.H.S. Ruben participated in the Math Club, National Honor Society, and Student Council. Through the AFS weekends and with his family, Ruben had the opportunity to visit a variety of places in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada, where he spent a week at a boy scout camp. When Ruben was asked what he enjoyed the most during his stay in the U.S., he said, “I enjoyed very much the AFS weekends, parties, my job at the BLADE, and being a member of the Elliott’s.” 8 Ruben Giraldo

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Anders Wallentin: From Sweden To Fairbury The Jim Newlin family: Lori, Julie, Mrs. Newlin, Jeff, Mr. Newlin, Anders Wallentin. Anders Wallentin, our foreign exchange student from Sweden, found Fairbury quite different from Gotenburg. Anders had little difficulty adjusting to his new school and his new home with the Jim Newlin family, however. While attending F.C.H.S., Anders involved himself in many activities. These activities included: Math Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, and the track team. Anders also wrote a column for THE BLADE entitled “The Viking”. In this column he gave Fairburians an idea of how things are in Sweden. Anders spent most of his time running with the track team. He was a great asset to the team, and received the outstanding track award. When Anders was asked about his year in Fairbury, he replied: “My most valuable experience was with the track team, in which I found a wonderful spirit, which was no comparison to what I have found in Sweden. I also think that Fairbury is one of the best towns an A.F.S. student can come to.”