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Foreign students share their stories By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland High School students and Ashland Middle School students had the opportunity to create the first English language learners newsmagazine, made possible by Ashland Schools Foundation funds. Students gathered together in AMS teacher Sandy Brand's English language learners class, where they combined computer skills with writing to share their personal stories with the student body at large. However, these students have come to the U.S. with different cultures, stories and experiences to share with their American peers. "I received an e-mail from another teacher who said every student should read every word," Brand said. The newsmagazine entitled "Voices from Other Lands" was distributed to both campuses after students spent weeks fine-tuning their messages. The $400 needed to publish the newsmagazine was secured through ASF funds, according to Brand. For Alicia Rodas, a seventh grade student from Guatemala, the stories highlighted difficulties foreign students face. "In my class, they read the story and they asked me if I went through all that I wrote about," Rodas said, adding she moved to the states when she was a child. "They said it was a really good newspaper because some of people don't understand how we feel." "Wherever you lived, you didn't have as much money which is why a lot of us came here - for a better life," she said. Brand said, at first, it was difficult to get the students to share. "We talked two or three different times on topics to put in the paper but they kept saying they have nothing interesting to say," Brand said. The finished product proved each student had something to share, Brand said. Stories ranged from the difficulties facing foreign families who decide to move to the U.S., to bullfighting, to traditional Mexican legends to stories about life in their native countries. AHS sophomore Elizabeth Canchola wrote "My Quinceanera . . . A Girl's 15th Birthday," in which she describes a traditional Mexican ceremony. "In case you don't know what that is, a quinceanera is a celebration for a girl who is having her 15th birthday," Canchola wrote. "Her parents give a party for her as a way for people to know that their daughter is leaving childhood behind to become a woman. This has been a tradition in Mexico for many years and we bring our tradition with us to the United States." Canchola said she misses many things about her homeland. "It's hard because I used to hang out with all of my girlfriends and now everyone's getting married so when I go back, things will be different." she said. AHS sophomore Gloria Rodas, Alicia's sister, decided to share with students the differences she has noticed between schools here and in Guatemala. "Maybe once a week we worked on a project in groups, but you can only talk about the work and nothing else," Gloria Rodas wrote. "Here we work in groups every day and we can help each other. I don't think either way is better but I do think we work harder in Guatemala because we can't ask other students for help." Many of Brand's students said they were proud of "Voices from Other Lands," including AHS student Paulina Reyes. "I felt excited about it because I had never done anything like this before," Reyes said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -