the words of music

Sheridan exchange student bridges cultural gap with notes and lyrics

By Jim Lancaster

LITTLE ROCK — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote that "music is the universal language of mankind."

Sheridan High School student Christina Mauder believes that with all her heart.

Christina is from Friedrichshafen, Germany, but for this year she is an 11th-grade student at SHS who plays the saxophone in the band. Christina came to the United States through an American Cultural Exchange Service program.

While her English is excellent - in an ACES evaluation of her English language proficiency, Christina was rated "superior" with additional comments as "fluent" - music has been another language she has used to communicate with her American classmates. In addition to playing in the school's jazz and symphonic bands, Christina is a member of the chancel choir at First United Methodist Church in Sheridan.

Christina's host family in Sheridan is Bob and Sue Andrews, who have two daughters at home, KayTea, who is a senior, and Jesse, who is in the eighth grade, and both have become like sisters to Christina. Sue Andrews described how Christina came to live with them, saying, "Actually it was Christina's sister, Veronika, whowas responsible for her being in this exchange program because she was also an exchange student that attended Sheridan High School in the 2005-06 school year and was also in the SHS band. Veronika Mauder is now attending UCA as a freshman and is a member of their drum line.

"Veronika did not stay with us, but we got to know her through the band, and our son, John, was a good friend to her. When Christina applied for a host family she requested to also live in Sheridan and go to SHS, and at the last minute her host family changed their mind. We were recommended by several people in the community, and we were contacted about a week before she was to arrive - we said we would give it a try. We had never been, nor had any intention of being a host family, but it has turned out to be a wonderful experience for us all, and it will be very sad for us when she leaves in June."

Christina's musical and creative talent is not limited to the saxophone.

"I also play the viola, and have been singing since I was a small child - I like drama and theater, too, as well as formal dance," sheexplained. "Unfortunately, the SHS choir couldn't fit into my schedule, so I was happy that the Andrewses' church was the United Methodist Church where Jesse and I are in the church choir. T he people there are great, so I was even happier to find a place to sing with other people - we have a lot of fun practicing for the Sunday service."

Christina said her parents, Klaus, a junior high teacher, and Gechthildis, a homemaker, have made a point to travel with Christina and her four sisters, Elisabeth, Regina, Veronika and Anna.

"With my family I have traveled to several other countries,including England, Spain, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, the Holy Land and the Czech Republic," Christina said. "My music ensemble traveled to Bosnia, France and the USA, so I can say my family and my music have given me some unusual international experience."

Christina said she was accepted by the students at SHS from day one.

"Since everything is so different from my school and home in Germany, this acceptance and nice people made my experience less scary.

And in band, it seems to me like a big family, which helped me to get used to 'American stuff' like marching band routines. We don't have marching band in Germany, and my German band only met once a week."

When asked about Christina and her music, SHS Band Director Ron McHone said, "She plays saxophone in our jazz and symphonic bands, and she is a pleasure to have - she has a good sense of humor - we frequently tease her when she says 'vot' for 'what.' She has taught us that the letter 'w' is pronounced as a 'v' in German. We have learned from her, and it is good for our students to experience a musician from a foreign country."

And when asked about American food, Christina replied, "I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat any meat or fish - I like vegetables and prefer them uncooked. Back in Germany we have some fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King that have the same hamburgers, so we know about American food there."

With a language and sometimes food barrier between them, Christina falls back on music.

"Music is to me like another language that everyone in the choir and band speaks, and with my music I get along with them all very well, without any communication problems, or accents," she said.

Foreign students are not as unusual at Sheridan High School as they once were. SHS Principal Donis Smead said, "With Christina we currently have a total of seven foreign students; the others are from Costa Rica, Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador and Hungar y. We think foreign students at our school add to the educational experience of our students by their diversity, culture and unique perspective on current issues and trends."

Tri-Lakes, Pages 123, 129 on 03/09/2008