WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional High School is currently hosting 36 students from La Cumbre, Argentina, for a two-week cultural exchange program.

 

The program, organized by Mount Greylock Spanish Department, involves a variety of cultural and social events for the visiting students.

 

"It is incredibly impactful on their academic experience," said Shannon Vigeant, Spanish teacher and Spanish Club adviser. "This allows them to experience the world in different ways, to connect to the language in a different way, and bring life to learning."

 

Vigeant organized the program with her colleagues Joe Johnson and Amy Kirby, also Spanish teachers at the school. She said it took some time to coordinate the exchange, which saw 25 Mount Greylock students visit La Cumbre last year.

 

"This is something we wanted to do for a long time, but we had a hard time getting it off the ground," Vigeant said. "We were just getting everyone on board and then COVID hit. It took about a year and a half, two years."

 

The Argentinian students, who arrived April 11, are improving their English language skills and immersing themselves in American culture. Simultaneously, Mount Greylock students are enhancing their Spanish language abilities and broadening their global perspectives.

 

"We're making friends from other countries, so I think that's a great experience," said Mount Greylock student Rafa Mellow-Bartels. "So to meet people from such a different part of the world from a different culture is interesting. We can learn about them, and now we get to show them what we do."

 

"It's amazing to get to know other people from other countries, different cultures," said La Cumbre student Ainhoa Saralegui. "To be able to live in their house and get to know what they do in their daily life. And to be surrounded by English all of the time and it is fun to teach them Spanish."

 

Vigeant said Johnson had a connection to La Cumbre adding that it is similar to Williamstown.

 

"We thought this would be a good place to land," she said. "It is really very similar. It is smaller town and a really good place to start cultivating a relationship."

 

She added that the students had been communicating over the years, so they had already built some strong relationships.

 

"It's been like two years since we started talking. It's unbelievable," said La Cumbre student Mateo Carrizo. "How time flew? Everything the schools have done and the family is incredible. The culture here is really different. I have never traveled to another country. Now I am visiting the whole world."

 

The student noted that he was surprised by the school's large student body, given that his own school only has around 115 students. He expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming events, but admitted he was less excited about the weather.

 

"It has been really cold, actually. Like, in Argentina, this is like our winter," he said. "Yesterday it was snowing. That was, like, unbelievable. I haven't seen snow in 10 years."

 

The exchange features an array of activities. Over the weekend, the Argentinian students attended local sporting events, and a welcome potluck and cookout. The students visited Ioka Valley Farm for a pancake breakfast and maple syrup demonstration, and visited Mass MoCA and the Eclipse Mill.

 

This week Argentinian students spent time at Mount Greylock Regional School, participating in Spanish classes and shadowing their host student counterparts.

 

La Cumbre student Luz Monasterio said the structure of the schooling is completely different in Argentina.

 

"It's completely different. In our school we have subjects … we have to take those," she said. "Here we like choose what we want to take. What we like."

 

They attended an ice skating party, an open mic night at Waubeeka Golf Course Clubhouse, and a day trip to the Clark Art Institute and Williams College. A visit to Ventfort Hall and Canyon Ranch was also scheduled, featuring outdoor adventures and wellness activities.

 

"We have had a tremendous amount of community support. Like Canyon Ranch sponsored an entire afternoon and allowed us to bring students through ziplining and rock climbing," Vigeant said. "Ventfort Hall, Ioka Farms, Waubeeka, they have all stepped up."

 

She added that 20 host families have volunteered to house the students.

 

The program wraps up with a school fundraiser dance, and a track meet and softball games. A hike up Mount Greylock is also planned. The last few days of the two-week exchange are designed to be flexible for students. The exchange concludes with a goodbye potluck dinner before the Argentinian students depart for New York City.

 

Mount Greylock student Erik Powell-Bechtel said he is looking forward to hosting the students and added that it has been eye-opening to experience his own culture through someone else.

 

"It's fascinating to see how they react to how different it is here compared to Argentina. Like when we were driving around, they saw the mailboxes, and they were fascinated that we have them because they don't have mailboxes in Argentina," he said. "The size of things are way bigger here. And there's so many options for stores, so they're just blown away by that. And I get to discover new things too. Like I never realized how many different kinds of cream cheese we have here."

 

Vigeant said she hopes to continue the program for years to come and build it into the curriculum, noting it offers an educational value that cannot be replicated in the classroom.

 

"I have seen first hand how profoundly the experience touched our students in not only academic ways by bringing the language we study alive, but as humans sharing the world and connecting," she said. "It was compelling and allowed me to view first hand the power of learning, language and continued exploration of the world around us.

 

Johnson also noted that faculty members have already observed growth in their students.

 

"We're already seeing a lot of what we hoped we would see. Students are more engaged and motivated in Spanish class, because now they're picturing the specific people they're going to use it to talk to," he said. "They're not picturing some theoretical Spanish speaker when they practice the language: They're picturing Fede, or Fatima, or Aris or Tiziana. Students are coming to us to ask about summer programs where they can learn more Spanish, working harder and learning faster than they were before the trip. Our hope is that these changes we're seeing just keep getting better and better."