Date: Fri 09-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

AFS-schools-Seymour

Full Text:

Breakfast Around The World

Newtown AFS Club

Hosts Seymour Students

Lydia Rauh tells Newtown and Seymour students about life in Dresden, Germany.

-Bee Photo, Evans

Mete Yurtyapan displays a poster showing the ancient temple of Ephesus in his

Turkish homeland.

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Seymour High School students interested in the American Field Service (AFS)

student exchange program spent a pleasant Monday morning off campus recently,

visiting Newtown High School and hearing from Newtown's AFS students about

life in other countries.

At the same time, they enjoyed a breakfast compliments of their Newtown hosts

and catered by the Newtown culinary arts students.

Following a welcome by Newtown AFS Club President Cara Neilsen, two AFS

students who have been attending Newtown High during the 1996/97 school year

spoke to the group.

Lydia Rauh from Dresden, Germany, showed slides of the handsome public

buildings and historic sites in her home town of Dresden, Germany. Dresden,

with a population of more than 500,000, appears quite modern, with many

beautiful public gardens and a sophisticated public transportation system.

After her talk, Lydia helped Mete Yurtyapan of Gaziantep, Turkey, show his

posters of Turkish sites - the ancient city of Ephesus, the pristine beaches

and sparkling blue water of the Mediterranean Sea in southern Turkey and a

monastery built into the side of a mountain.

A photograph of the fabulously elegant Blue Mosque was a good example of the

"mixture of many cultures" in Turkey, Mete said. He explained that Moslems and

Christians try to coexist today in a peaceful manner despite their 600-year

history of conflict.

As the students ate bagels, sausage and scrambled eggs, their faculty

advisors, Newtown AFS counselor Linda VanTassel and former adviser Mary

Tomaino, stood nearby to welcome late-comers and make sure no one ran out of

food.

"The kids love to mingle," observed Seymour AFS adviser Adrienne Brown as she

scanned her group of 21 students who were busy socializing with their Newtown

peers.

The adult AFS club in Seymour was experiencing a period of transition, Ms

Brown said. Several longtime club members were taking a "year off" this year,

a circumstance resulting in the fact that Seymour High School has no foreign

AFS student visiting this year.

"It was a very active chapter for about 20 years, always such a support," Ms

Brown added regretfully.

She hoped next year they'd be able to sponsor AFS students again as in the

past. Meanwhile, they appreciated the opportunity to come to Newtown, hear

from Lydia and Mete, and have a hearty breakfast.