ÿþ<html><head> <Script Language="JavaScript"> // <!-- var MyWindow = null; function openpic(pic) { MyWindow = window.open('','popuppic','resizable=no,status=0,scrollbars=no,top=120,left=120'); MyWindow.document.open(); MyWindow.document.write('\ <html>\ <head>\ <title>\ La Crosse Dubna student exchange.</title></head>\ <body bgcolor="#ffffff" leftmargin=10 topmargin=10 marginheight=10 marginwidth=10 onLoad="window.focus();resizeme()">\ <img src='+pic+'>\ </body>\ <Script Language="JavaScript">\ function resizeme() {\ if ( (screen.availWidth <= (document.images[0].width))\ && (screen.availHeight <= (document.images[0].height)) )\ {\ window.resizeTo(screen.availWidth, screen.availHeight);\ } else {\ window.resizeTo(document.images[0].width+30,document.images[0].height+50);\ }\ }\ </script>\ </html>\ '); MyWindow.document.close(); } // --> </script><style>a {font-size:16 px}; a:hover {color:ff0000};</style><title>Article in newspaper</title></head> <body marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 text="darkblue" alink="#000000" vlink="#000000" link="#000000"> <table width=100% border=0 bgcolor="#ffffff" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td><center> <table width="500" border=0 bgcolor="#ffffff" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr valign="top"><td> <br><br><a href="Article1.html">La Crosse Tribune 2002</a><br> <a href="Article9.html">Nancy Ellingson</a><br> <a href="Article.html">"Vstrecha"(Russia) 2002</a><br> <a href="Article3.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 2003</a><br> <a href="Article2.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 12.16.2003</a><br> <a href="Article4.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 16.07.2004</a><br> <a href="Article5.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 27.07.2004</a><br> <span style='font-size:16.0px'><font color="#bb0000"><b>"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 13.07.2006</b></font></span><br> <a href="Article7.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 13.07.2006</a><br> <a href="Article8.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 24.08.2006</a><br> <a href="Article10.html">"From Heart to Heart Diplomacy" by Yana Ashmanskaya 2007</a><br><br><br> <hr width="500"><span style='font-size:16.0px'><font color="#008800">This article was printed in the 13 July 2006 issue of the Dubna Russia Newspaper: Ploshad Mira.</font><br><br> <b><font color="#bb0000">The school of life and friendship.</font></b> <br><br> <div align="justify"> In the summer 2005 the 8th Cultural Student Exchange between La Crosse and Dubna organized by the Friendship Association of the two sister cities, ended. <br><br> Six Dubna students: Mikhail Kononov (school g%7), Margarita Leonova (school g%6), Maria Marenich (school g%3), Yuri Mazepa (school g%8), Alina Yakutina and Viktoria Kulikova (Lyceum "Dubna") visited their friends in La Crosse. They enjoyed friendly meetings, did team-work, and interesting trips. Russian students saw how people of another continent live with their own eyes. Having settled in American families, which is an indispensable condition of the project, they tried to become Americans for some time and experience the American way of life from the inside. <br><br> Dubna students together with their American friends traveled a lot, they did not only see the sights of La Crosse and learn its history but they also visited many other American cities such as Minneapolis, Madison, and Rochester. They stayed four days in the very centre of Chicago and had a three-day rest in the city of water amusement Wisconsin Dells, in the biggest covered American Water Park Kalahari. They also sailed down the Mississippi River on board an old paddle-boat (like those in Mark Twain's time), had many interesting tours. Students visited not only museums but also the Capitol building in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, and Mayor's office building in La Crosse. Then they went to one of the local restaurants where they had lunch with the Mayor of La Crosse and told him their impressions of America. <br><br> Two weeks of the intensive Exchange Program were spent with students' host families: each family organized a cultural program for their Russian guest on their own or jointly with other families. <br><br> The students visited the "Wild West" in South Dakota, the most beautiful national park Badlands and enjoyed its "lunar scenery", and stood by the national American icon " Mount Rushmore, on which faces of 4 American presidents are carved. Some of the students visited Miami, some enjoyed an exciting amusement park of Disneyland, and some visited Saint Louis (state Missouri). Under their parents guidance students did a 32km bicycle ride including 1.6 km way through a tunnel inside a mountain, had a canoe trip, swam in many local reservoirs, visited modern music concerts, car racing, water ski and aviation shows, played baseball, bowling, mini-golf, rode carts, had lunch in cafes and restaurants of all types. One day, the students even held a wonderful party for their host families, and their relatives and friends serving Russian food which they had cooked themselves from American foodstuff. <br><br> The agenda was not all  just fun : according to the Program they were to have several workdays. Their American parents and all the students worked at Riverfest, which is very much like Dubna birthday celebrations. The students helped cooked food in one of the restaurants at Riverfest and the restaurant then made a donation to the exchange program. The students also cleaned up litter during the celebration which was accumulating very fast and again the Riverfest program made a nice monetary donation to the exchange.. One day the students worked for Salvation Army in a home for the poor. The washed windows, cleaned rooms, mowed lawns. This experience allowed them to see another side of American life. This part of their work was without and monetary donation to the exchange. All the other money they earned was transferred to the Exchange Program account. <br><br> Every day of the exchange was full of events, planned in detail, good order and deep sense. The days gradually went one after another forming unforgettable life experience. The amazing result of the visit was particularly clear in the last minutes of our parting at the airport. All of the students were crying bitterly saying their goodbyes. <br><br> One year earlier when the students had only decided to take part in the Exchange Program it seemed to be mostly just an excellent chance to improve their English and liberalize. However, as the days passed on it was becoming clearer that the program is something more than just a trip to our Sister City to see part of America, and speak English. This Exchange Program teaches communication, one learns the value of helping each other and it gives one the opportunity to form a new view of oneself and the people around you. It helps to  shake hands with each other. <br><br> Host parents play a big role in this Exchange since they must become active participants of the Exchange. They work with their children, give them advice, help them overcome difficulties and tiredness, cheer them up, share experience with them. This Exchange is mainly accomplished at American and Dubna families' expense and their fundraising efforts. To raise money, parents apply to charity organizations, commercial firms, businessmen. The Americans also have rummage sales which are customary in the USA. Exchange students wash cars, work at city festivals, help to cook food in restaurants. Not only students do such work but also their parents do. The leader of the program is an American, Bill Trussoni, who does it for free and on a voluntary basis. He brings American students to Russia every other summer of the Exchange Program and the next summer he organizes a wonderful month welcome for Russian students in America. <br><br> All the details of the Exchange Program and the schedule of events and activities you can find on the website http://lacrosse-dubna.narod.ru.<br><br> L. Leonova<br><br> Translation: Lena Krylova.<br><br> </div></span> <hr width="500"> <br><br> <a href="Article1.html">La Crosse Tribune 2002</a><br> <a href="Article9.html">Nancy Ellingson</a><br> <a href="Article.html">"Vstrecha"(Russia) 2002</a><br> <a href="Article3.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 2003</a><br> <a href="Article2.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 12.16.2003</a><br> <a href="Article4.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 16.07.2004</a><br> <a href="Article5.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 27.07.2004</a><br> <span style='font-size:16.0px'><font color="#bb0000"><b>"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 13.07.2006</b></font></span><br> <a href="Article7.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 13.07.2006</a><br> <a href="Article8.html">"Ploshad Mira"(Russia) 24.08.2006</a><br> <a href="Article10.html">"From Heart to Heart Diplomacy" by Yana Ashmanskaya 2007</a><br> </td></tr> <tr height="30" valign="bottom"><td></td></tr></table></center></td></tr></table> </body> </html>