by Reina Reformado
In the evening of August 18, 2017, seven Italian exchange students arrived in Manila. Canossa College, for the second time this Academic Year 2017- 2018 as headed by Sr. Luzviminda G. Mojica, FdCC – School Directress and Sr. Cynthia M. Magsino, FdCC – Community Leader and the rest of the sisters from the San Pablo Community, welcomed them with a joyful heart.
The exchange students from the two secondary Canossa schools in Italy are expected to share and to experience what’s it like to be Filipino Canossian students until October 15, 2017. Two of them in the persons of Sara Giordano and Alessia Corona are from Instituto Scolastico Maddalena di Canossa while the rest of the students are from Instituto Canossiane Como namely Arianna Chiandotto, Francesca Sinisi, Valeria Alesandra Pini, Alessia Occhionero and Claudia Colombo.
They voluntarily joined the program and funded their participation. According to Allessia Corona, “Our school gave us the opportunity to come here and we accepted it because we like to travel and we want to improve our English and we would like to understand a new culture that was far different from us.”
The Senior High School SMC- SIL with the supervision of their moderator Mr. Francis Dave Abellano formally introduced the girls to the Junior and Senior High School students during the school’s morning assembly held last August 23, 2017 in the Court of Thanks. Due to warm welcome of Sr. Luz and the entire community they were astounded on how they were accommodated by the students, teachers and sisters. The first day was indeed remarkable since they were able to taste Filipino hospitality.
Nevertheless, they were assigned by Mrs. Maria Cecilia T. Llorente, our High School Principal, to different strands; three of them joined the ABM class, two are in STEM and another two are in the HUMSS classes. Purposively, they are attending classes in English, Mathematics, Personality Development and Understanding Social and Politics Culture. In terms of difficulties, communication barriers seem to be their major concern, yet they are pleased to be here. Along with their enculturation in our school they found out that Filipino Canossians are joyful, friendly and approachable. According to them, good student- teacher relationships were evident which were truly different from their culture.
