Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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I hope that I have made people in the United States understand that things that people do in other countries are not done the wrong way. There’s no ’wrong’ way only different ways” Pekka Tamminen America is fun and a nice place to visit, but come to Spain and you will discover another way of having fun. Everyone is invited to visit me in Barcelona.” Elisa Mas I’m not sure Americans understand the West Germans because they don’t live in such a situation. Germany is split and now they (Americans) want to station several hundred nuclear weapons there. I am afraid. I want Americans to reconsider putting the weapons there. Many Germans hate the American soldier because they do not want him there.” Marius Carstensen 7

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Marius Carstensen Elisa Mas Pekka Tamminen SPECIAL GUEST STARS This year at Stoneham High School we had three foreign exchange students joining our cast The influx of cultural influence wasn ' t overwhelming, but in taking time to talk to our guest stars , it is apparent that they have a lot to add to our senior year. Pekka Tamminen from Helsinki, Finland, Marius Carstensen from Schleswig, Germany and Elisa Mas from Barcelona, Spain, have all added to our senior experience in their own way. Some of their opinions about the United States are the same, some of their feelings about their stays here are different, but each is worth listening to and can provide insight into our own culture as well as theirs. All three seem to feel the same about school. They ' re used to a less structured system, and enjoy more freedom at home. The breaks between classes are up to a half an hour long, and all the students stay in one room together while the teachers move from class to class. School seems to have more of a social atmosphere in the United States, with more of a concern for talking with friends and making plans for the weekend. Marius and Elisa both explained that people don ' t dress up at all for school, they just go there to learn. They all commented on how friendly and nice the people are and it was mentioned that other countries don ' t like foreigners and aren ' t very cordial to them. They were also impressed with the fact that we are eligible for a driver ' s license at 16!A. Pekka doesn ' t like the rush between classes and some of the silly T V. programs. Elisa also dislikes T.V., the disruptive times at which we eat, and some foods such as pickles and ketchup. Marius, at 19, finds the great age differences in high school students difficult, and has a hard time relating to the younger students. All of the students came here to better understand the American people and use the English language. There has been a noticeable improvement in their communication skills already. Pekka was expecting his year here to be more of a vacation, and has found it to be just like normal life. Marius expected his free time to be much like it was at home in Germany -spent with his friends; but he finds he is not doing as many things as he would like to. Elisa thought high school was going to be like it is portayed in the movies. Some things are different, she says, but some are the same. When asked how they liked Stoneham, the answers were very different. Pekka likes having so many things, like restaurants and the movies, right here in town. He says it ' s good that everything is practically in walking distance, but to get anywhere, outside of Stoneham he finds our transporataion system inferior to that of Helsinki. Marius finds Stoneham rather boring and is used to a great deal more action in his home town. There ' s always people doing things in stores, in the streets, wherever you go. He spends his time in Germany out with his friends and at clubs having a good time. Elisa likes the city better, and makes frequent trips to Boston. You can find her at lively Harvard Square poking around Urban Outfitters or at Quincy Market, or the Nickelodeon. She, like Pekka, feels that transportation is easier in her native country; cabs are cheaper, buses more accessible. Still she manages to eliminate boredom by going to parties and dances. Family life in the United States is different to each of our guest stars as well. Pekka feels that families in Finland are as close as those in the United States, while Elisa feels the same, she also thinks families spend more time together here. Marius thinks American families are closer and spend a great deal more time with each other than German families. Pekka, Marius and Elisa all agree that young people here and in their own countries have the same motivations, problems, conflicts and worries. One worry they don ' t have, however is how they will pay for school. Universities are free and all you have to pay for in Finland is room and board. Marius said that the state can provide as much as $300-400 dollars a month towards living in your own apartment and attending school. Elisa feels that with the pressure of college expenses and having to work to finance themselves, Americans grow up faster. We hope that Pekka, Marius and Elisa have enjoyed their stay in the states, and learned as much from their experience as we have learned from them. 6 i

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SOUND OF MUSIC Selling over 25 million copies of Thriller” and setting a record of 8 grammys in the same year (in Pop, Rock, R B, etc.), Michael Jackson is truly a superstar” of 1984. The success of the Police in the past years grew even more (this year) with the popularity of their final album Synchronicity”. In the past two years, videos have rejuvenated the crumbling record industry. The influence of MTV, the only video music channel, on music in general has been phenomenal- - -while millions watched on. Def Leppard proved that heavy metal can still survive with their smash album Pyromania”. David Bowie surprised the Music world with Let’s Dance”, an album that displayed his widely varied talent.