In the fall of 2000, eighth grade regular Spanish students corresponded by e-mail with students of Colegio América, which is located in the port city of Callao, Perú. For each letter students wrote a paragraph in Spanish and a paragraph in English. They discussed such topics as their families, their school subjects, things that they like to do in their free time, and the elections in the United States as well as the political situation with the Fujimori government in Peru.

The school was founded in 1891 by Thomas Wood. Wood, a native of Lafayette, Indiana lived in South America for forty-three years, twenty-two of which he spent in Peru. The school was founded under the auspices of the Methodist Church with the purpose of serving Peruvian society. The motto of the school is "Culture, Honor, Service." Students "enter to learn and leave to serve." The school has three divisions, much the same as our school: an elementary division (primer nivel), a middle school division (segundo nivel), and a high school division (tercer nivel). More information about the school can be found at its website (www.america.edu.pe).

In December the Peruvian students departed school for their summer vacation. Our students were assigned to write a description of their keypals based on their e-mail exchanges of the fall.

Feel free to browse the descriptive summaries listed below.

This activity design and implemented by Debbie Mersky, for the students of Germantown Academy Middle School. Web page design and technical assistance furnished by Carol Siwinski, Curricular Technology Specialist.

January, 2001