Athena Magazine
for girls
for girls
| Editor's note: Every issue, AMG features an outstanding young woman as our Athena of the Month. Our first Athena of the Month is Elley Symmes of New Hampshire. If you would like to nominate a young woman to be our next Athena, click here. |
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| Meet Elley! Sixteen year-old Elley Symmes is quite an experienced traveler. Elley recently spent six months in Argentina, living the life of a typical Argentinean teen. When she arrived in Argentina, she knew no one and was only able to communicate using the very basics of the Spanish language. But, when it was time for Elley to head back home to New Hampshire, she was fully fluent in Spanish and was leaving a group of people she viewed as close family and friends. Elley discovered an interest in traveling abroad when she was in elementary school and visited Spain with her family. Once she reached |
Elley lived the life of a typical teenager while in Argentina. She went to school, made friends with schoolmates and hung out with friends during her free time. However, she noticed many cultural differences between America and Argentina. The biggest cultural difference she noticed was the amount of respect Argentinean teenagers have for their families and friends. “Everyone there is very nice to one another. Teenagers respect their parents and rules. And, there isn’t as much teen drinking, even though the drinking age is eighteen.” She also appreciated the laid back, relaxed lifestyle she lived in Argentina. “At home I am stressed out all the time—there I just enjoyed life.” |
| One of the coolest things that came out of her experience in Argentina was what she came to understand during her stay. “I look at the world completely differently now,” she says. One thing she discovered during her stay was how unaware many American young people are about the rest of the world. “They [Argentinean teenagers] know so much about the U. S. and other countries. Here, we don’t know a lot of stuff about other countries.” What else makes Elley so cool? Elley stays busy playing for her high school’s varsity soccer team and studying Spanish, her favorite subject in school. She keeps in contact with her host family and friends in Argentina regularly and is even in the midst of planning a second trip to Argentina so she can see her host sister’s high school graduation. What the Future Holds... Although Elley is not certain what she wants to pursue as a major in college or career, her time in Argentina has made her certain her future will include traveling abroad and speaking different languages. “I would love to learn to speak a third language,” she says, “and maybe even a fourth!” |
| Elley stands in front of the Cataratas waterfalls in Argentina |
| November's Athena of the Month: Elley Symmes by Sarah Cushing |
| high school, her interest in her Spanish class paired with her awesome experience in Spain inspired her to travel to a Spanish-speaking country. After doing some research, Elley became involved with AFS Intercultural Programs, a voluntary, international organization serving students and individuals interested in studying or volunteering abroad. While in Argentina, Elley lived with a host family. Elley’s host family opened their home to her, providing her with a clean, safe and comfortable place to live while she was in their country. She became very close with her host family, which included a host mother and father as well as four host brothers and sisters, ranging in age from four to eighteen years old. “My host parents are amazing people, and my host sister and I are best friends," she said. |
November 2007