Harrisville Central School - Pirates Log Yearbook (Harrisville, NY)

Page 33 text:

(from left) front: Kelly Buckingham, Mr. Buckingham, Senor Rodrigo Antonio Leao Bahia, Mrs. Buckingham, Marty Buckingham; back: Gary Buckingham, Debbie Bucking- ham, Kevin Buckingham. Shortly before Christmas, the Buckingham family added a son to their group in the person of Senor Rodrigo Antonio Leao Bahia, a native of Bello Horizonte, Brazil. Senor Bahia, who is fifteen, is the son of Senor and Senora Roberto Bahia. He has three sisters, all in school, and two brothers, also in school. Rodrigo's father operates a blanket factory with his brothers in Bello Horizonte, a city of some two million inhabitants. He also owns a farm in the country, a fact which accounts for Rodrigo's fondness for horses and horseback riding. Rodrigo, like all true South Americans, loves soccer. Since coming to Harrisville he has also acquired a liking for basketball as a spectator sport, he adds. He mentions the fact that he has gained over eleven pounds in less than a month. He attributes this gain to the fact that he is now the son of a grocer and eats all the time . In addition to horses and soccer, he enjoys music, reading, and swimming. He is in the process of learning to ski. We wish Rodrigo much success in his studies when he returns to Brazil.

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(From left): Maria Elena Aguirre, Senor Hugo Aguirre, Debbie, Senora Marietta Aguirre, Gina Aguirre, and Lucho Aguirre. Lee Ann presented a fine program of slides and com- ments to the student body and to a number of clubs and organizations in Harrisville during the fall and winter months. This stay in South America was one of the finest experiences of her life, an adventure she will treasure for the rest of her days. Senor and Senora Gonzales. Our second exchange student was Debbie Buckingham, also a member of this year's graduating class and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Buckingham. She spent her ten weeks as guest of Dr. and Senora Hugo Aguirre in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Her father is an obstetrician who owns a hospital and a cosmetics factory. She had two brothers, Hugo, married on Debbie's birthday while she was in Ecuador, and Lucho who is nineteen and who had spent four months in Pennsylvania. She also had two sisters, Maria Elena, a girl of eighteen who had also spent some time in the United States, and Gina, who is fourteen. Because of the visit of her brother and sister in our country, Debbie states that she had no language problem. She did learn a considerable amount of Spanish, nevertheless. Concerning Guayaquil, Debbie states that it provided quite a contrast to Har- risville since Guayaquil is a metropolis of a million or more inhabitants. There was considerably more to do in a community of this size. She took full advantage of the situation and attended a number of soccer games, dances, movies, and parties. The movies, oddly enough, were in English with Spanish sub-titles. Debbie also visited Salinas Beach and accompanied a number of other exchange students on a tour of the heart of the Andes. The group stopped in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. During this tour, Debbie had the experience of standing on the equator, of seeing an active volcano, Cotapaxi, and of viewing the highest mountain in the country, Mount Chimbaraso. Both Debbie and Lee Ann stated that one of their biggest problems was adjusting to the food. Not only were they temporarily taken aback by the different nature of the food itself, but the change in the hours of the meals also caused some re- adjustment. Dinner, for example, was at two and usually consisted of beef or poultry, rice, bread, soup, corn on the cob or a salad, with fresh fruit or pastry for dessert. One item which Debbie says she now misses is the variety of fresh fruit which her guest country provided, for example, fresh pineapple, coconuts, papaya, bananas, and native fruits. The poverty which both girls encountered while in their host country made them all the more appreciative of the abundance which exists in the United States. It has also made them more sympathetic towards the poor of our own country.

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HOOVERS HOST EXCHANGE STUDENT (from left) front: Senorita Magna Maria Machado da Costa, Mr. Hoover, Mrs. Hoover, Karen Hoover; back: Chris Hoover, Lee Ann Hoover, Kathy Hoover, and Keith Hoover. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hoover, whose daughter was an exchange student in South America during the summer of 1973, played hosts to a charming nineteen-year old young lady from Brazil, Senorita Magna Maria Machado da Costa, daughter of Senor and Senora Manuo Brasil da Costa. Senor da Costa is an officer in the Ministry of Finance in Rio de Janeiro. Senorita da Costa has two brothers, one of which, Roberto, resides in Philadelphia where he practices medicine. Mario, the second brother, is a student in Brazil. Senorita da Costa has completed her high school studies and hopes to enter a university upon her return to her native land. She plans to major in biology, most likely in the botanical sciences. While in high school, she studied the sciences, history, geography, French and English, and a host of other subjects. She has also done two years of study in the theater and has had roles in several productions as a student. Asked about American food, she replied that she likes all of them, having been exposed to them in South America already. She expressed a liking for music, movies and travel. She definitely does not like to cook. The Hoover family and the school were most happy to have had her with us.