By Marisa Ellis
Circulation Editor
The Mira Costa Music Department invited 20 Austrian students to stay with Costa students from Oct. 15 –Oct. 29 to experience a band competition, go to classes with Costa students, and explore Southern California.
According to Costa Band Booster Vice President Shirley Ritter, Ritter and Sabine Huemer, a college professor that helps organize the study abroad program in the United states, coordinated the Austrian students’ stay through a fall Sacre Coeur School study abroad program to expose the Austrian students to the American high school experience.
“The Austrian students were able to stay with families that had students in band, orchestra, and choir,” Ritter said. “The students shadowed their host student at school. During weekends, the Austrian students enjoyed doing activities with their host families.”
According to Ritter, while the Austrian students shadowed the students during the school days, Austrian chaperones made sure all was well with the students by periodically meeting with them throughout the day. The Austrian chaperones, Christian Sonnenberg and Markus Steininger, came to school everyday to meet with Costa teachers.
“Mr. Timberlake and Mr. Piper let Sonnenberg and Steininger give small talks to their classes,” said Ritter. “They talked about the differences the two schools and what they have been participating in here.”
The program is also a fundraiser for their trip to Carnegie Hall in May because the band students who let an Austrian student stay at their house, gets money from the study abroad program. According to Ritter, many host family members are part of Costa Marching Band, so outside of school, many of the Austrian students were able to go to the Field Show Competition at Glover Stadium in Anaheim. Austrian students also got to experience the Costa Homecoming game and dance and go to the beach and Universal Studios.
“Going to the beach was my favorite experience because I got to try jet skiing and be in the water,” said Austrian student Konstatine Kabourek said. “Our school has no mascots or school colors so it has been a very different, but interesting experience being here.”
Kabourek said that the Costa contrasts immensely from the Sacre Coeur School.
According to Kabourek, at Sacre Coeur School, they do not have electives as classes at school. Rather, band, choir, art, and sports are all after school activities.
“I thought it was very different from our school where we usually participate in after school activities,” Kabourek said. “It was a very fun experience to be apart of a new school for two weeks and to do things differently that I haven’t done back home.”
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