Students learn cultures in exchange program

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Youths spend the day at the Guachimontones pyramids near the town of Teuchitlan, an hour away from Guadalahara.

SALT LAKE CITY — Eleven 6th grade students from Saint Vincent de Paul School left Feb. 27 for Guadalajara, Mexico. They will return March 15 after participating in an exchange program with students from John F. Kennedy Primary School in Guadalajara.

Thirteen students from John F. Kennedy Primary School involved in the exchange program stayed with families from St. Vincent de Paul School from Feb. 8 to Feb. 22. "This is the fourth year we have been involved in this exchange program," said Paul Guenther, principal of John F. Kennedy School.

Guenther is a 1985 graduate of Judge Memorial Catholic High School. His parents, David and Elaine Guenther, built the John F. Kennedy School in Guadalajara, hoping to provide better education and bilingual skills to the children they met during a one-year stay in Mexico. They saw a need for bilingual education for Mexican children and founded the school in 1974.

"Our mission is to have the students experience life in a Mexican home and a Mexican school and to see the similarities and the differences," said Mark Longe, principal of St. Vincent de Paul School. "I think most of our kids go to Mexico and realize there are more similarities than differences. We ask the families to speak as much Spanish to our kids as possible. Our kids have fun experiencing the beach, and the rich traditions of the Mexican culture."

Marissa and Madison Ulibarri, 6th-grade twin students from St. Vincent de Paul, have called home and emailed since they arrived in Guadalajara Feb. 27 to tell their parents at first they were a little homesick, and then how much fun they were having. They went to a Chivas soccer game and to the Guachimontones pyramids in the town of Teuchitlan an hour away from Guadalajara.

"From a personal experience, I can say you develop nice family relationships," said Longe, who has been a host for students from Mexico.

John F. Kennedy is a private school that offers pre-kindergarten through 6th-grade classes, with a heavy emphasis on the students learning English. "Our students are immersed in an English language program as well as their Spanish curriculum, and have been learning English since kindergarten," said Guenther. "But they do not have many opportunities to practice English on a daily basis outside of the school setting. So coming to Utah is a great opportunity to put their English to work."

The Mexican students write in their journals every day in English. They participate in all of the St. Vincent de Paul school activities, learn about the American culture and the differing Catholic culture in the United States.

"The Catholic culture here is more formal than the Mexican culture," said Guenther. "Several of our students have never been in the snow, but at the same time, some of them have been skiing and have traveled to other countries. The social background of our students is very similar to those of St. Vincent. We have parents who are professionals who want their children to have an excellent private education. They work for American companies; they are not Mexican migrant students coming up here to experience the United States."

"John F. Kennedy is known as a dual-language school," said Longe. "They speak English one day and all Spanish the next, and graduate fluent in both languages."

"The whole exchange experience is wonderful," said Guenther. "We’ve had several families who have developed friendships and then visit each other on their vacations either skiing or in the metropolitan city of Guadalajara. That is really neat to see. This is a great way for our cultures to have an understanding."