Northwest High School - Silvertip Yearbook (Wichita, KS)

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Exchange students learn, experience American culture Arriving in the summer of 1982, six foreign exchange students from various countries came to Wichita to spend a year with American families. During the year- long stay they made friends, attended school, stayed with a new family and par- ticipated in various activities. Exchange students attending Northwest were Alberto Peimbert from Mexico, Elisabet Henriksson from Sweden, Anja Schutte from Germany, Laila Neilsen from Denmark, Maria Victoria Diez from Colum- bia and Tom Sarlvick from Sweden. They were able to experience and learn first-hand about American culture. The learning experience was returned when Northwest students took the advantage to get to know the exchange students and learn about their respective countries and cultures. Each exchange student was re- quired to take government, U.S. History and English to qualify for graduation status. Although learning was a major aspect of their stay in Wichita, they also experienced many new activities and social events. A few experiences that were different from the traditional ways of their own coun- try ranged from dating to eating out. All of the exchange students attended the junior- Senior Prom which proved to be an ususual experience for them. Long dresses and tux- edos are a symbol for weddings and they thought that the Prom looked like everyone was getting married, because of the formal attire. Dating was also a new experience. It is more common in other countries for couples to meet somewhere than the tradi- tional American way of the male going to the female's house to meet. Also, school is taken more seriously in other countries and therefore extra-curricular activities are not emphasized. It was a difficult end to a special year when the goodbyes of six students probably meant forever. Each had different per- sonalities and each one will be remembered for something that only identifies with that one individual. Many goodbyes were filled with tears as the exchange students left in late june to go back home. 'iff

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20' ABOVE: Members of the American Field Service QAFSQ Club enjoy a pool Party at the home of Melissa McKenzie. RIGHT: Sharing a bit of her taste in music, Melissa McKenzie shows Maria Victoria Diez a sampling of Western culture. BELOW: Participating in the AFS and the Interculture Student Exchange Tom Sarlvik, Anja Schutte, Elisabet Henriksson, Maria Victoria Diez and Laila Nielson came to the United States to attend Northwest.

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22' Students utilize spare moments in various ways Sometimes planning activities for school vacations and weekends could be a difficult task. Northwest students remedied this difficult problem simply by doing the things on vacation weekends that they could not do during the regular school week. Most students liked some of the same activities so there was always a friend to share in the leisure time events. Shopping, playing video games, talking on the telephone, watching television and attending community sponsored events were just some of the activities students participated in while school was not in ses- sion. Shopping was a leisure time activity en- joyed by many students. Wichita had enough shopping centers so that it was an event that was both convenient and ex- citing. Those students who lived on the northeast side of town discovered that Towne East had a wide variety of stores and restaurants housed in its facilities and those who lived on the west side of town found Towne West convenient because of its location. Many students spent hours on weekends looking for items such as prom attire, a mother's or father's day gift, a gold chain or bracelet for that special someone, or just a new pair of designer jeans for themselves. Leisure time was also spent relaxing at home. Students sometimes found as many activities to do at home as there was away from home. The activities done in the home were found to be far less expensive. During the warmer months of the year students enjoyed laying out in the sun listening to the radio alone or par- ticipating in a friendly, but competitive, team sport such as basketball, football or volleyball. During cooler months students involved themselves in less strenuous ac- tivities such as the all-time favorite past- time of talking on the phone to a friend. With the new cablevision system, watch- ing television became a favorite activity during leisure moments. YY ABOVE: Making some extra dollars for the Thespian account, Senior Nancy Peck, Sophomore Cindy Richard- son and junior Pam junkin spend some of their extra time washing cars at the Thespian car wash. BELOW: Rides such as the double fcrris wheel challenges Northwest students who took time out to visit the Kansas State Fair in September. AXQA afizevoj