From L.A. to Colombia, Marymount girls share a strong work ethic

An Interview with Marymount Colombia Students

The+Marymount+Medellin+students+smile+with+Mrs.+Bostic+and+Mr.+Klein+during+the+Religious+of+the+Sacred+Heart+of+Mary+International+Conference+last+June+in+Medellin.

The Marymount Medellin students smile with Mrs. Bostic and Mr. Klein during the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary International Conference last June in Medellin.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Colombia? I had the chance to interview Carolina and Manuela, two seventeen-year-old students at Marymount School in Colombia for an inside look.

Where in Colombia do you live?

Carolina: In Medellín.

How do you get to school?

Carolina and Manuela: Our parents take us to school.

Do you live close?

Carolina: Yes. She lives two minutes away and I live five minutes away from school.

What is a typical day like for you?

Carolina: We have the first class, then recess, then two classes, then lunch, and then the last two classes.  We go home at three.

What does your uniform look like?

Manuela: We have blue jumpers, saddle shoes, and white socks.

Carolina: And we have sweatshirts that say Marymount.

Do you play any sports?

Manuela: We go to the gym.

How many classes do you have?

Carolina: Thirteen.

Manuela: But in a day we have four.

What’s your favorite part about Marymount?

Carolina: My friends and that it’s huge.

How many people are there?

Carolina: One thousand girls, but [from the time] they’re three years old until we’re eighteen.

Have you ever been to the United States?

Carolina: Yes. New York.

Manuela: Miami

Carolina: Orlando

Manuela: Houston

Carolina: Missouri, Pennsylvania

Did you like it?

Manuela and Carolina: Yes!

What’s the biggest difference between Colombia and America?

Carolina: I don’t know, maybe that the people here are more outgoing.

Manuela: And here we have trees and plants and green places.

What are your favorite student activities at your school?

Carolina: We have Pink T-shirt Day.

Manuela: And we also have St. Patrick’s.

Carolina: And the Seniors’ Cup, where there are games and sports for them.

How many languages do you speak?

Carolina: Three: English, Spanish, and French.

Do you have Masses at school?

Carolina: Yes.  We have two or three in our chapel in a year.

Do you have to do community service?

Carolina: Yes, eighty hours of community service.

Manuela: For the whole time, but it’s hard to do them in tenth grade.

Carolina: Yeah, we finish them in ninth grade. We graduate in eleventh grade, not twelfth grade.

What are your plans for after you graduate?

Carolina: I want to be a doctor, so I’m going to study a year in a college nearby.

Manuela: And I want to be a journalist.

What do you think the biggest emphasis at your school is?

Carolina: English

Does everyone speak English pretty fluently?

Carolina: Everyone.  We learn three languages though.

What do you think about going to an all-girls school?

Carolina: I think it’s cool.

Manuela: Yes, I think it’s better for me.

Carolina: You’re more comfortable around your friends.

And do you have friends that are boys from before you went there?

Carolina: No, we don’t really have guy friends.

Manuela: No boyfriends!

Carolina: In eighth grade and ninth grade we had what I think is called integration with another school that is only boys, but [now] it’s all girls.

What is Colombia like?

Carolina: It’s pretty.

Manuela: For me, it’s beautiful.  And the people are nice.

Carolina: You should come!