Walt Whitman High School Leadership students video conference with Azerbaijani teenagers

Juniors Will Aisenberg, Ryo Ishida, Lillie Jacobson, Stephen Kent and Alex Sopko discussed, in English, differences between life in America and life in Azerbaijan. Using new communications technology, the teenagers also discussed hobbies they share with students from the former Soviet satellite.

Principal Alan Goodwin, who spoke briefly at the event, said he worked for several years to implement a video conferencing program, and the coordinators hope to involve students from more countries as the technology develops further. "I think it went really well, and now the challenge is to find students from more countries to talk with, and develop more topics for the students to discuss. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a continued global friendship."

A country slightly smaller than Maine, the Republic of Azerbaijan lies between Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and the Caspian Sea in southwest Asia. It gained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and has a population of almost 8 million, most of whom are Muslim.

Nancy Lubin, mother of junior Alex Sopko, helped organize the event after her daughter expressed interest in video conferencing with Azerbaijani teens she had met last summer.

Ganira Pashayeva, an Azerbaijani member of parliament, Elin Suleymanov, Los Angeles Consul General and Consulate of Azerbaijan and Lala Abdurakhimova, former Staff and Presidential Apparat of Azerbaijan, who coincidentally visited Washington, D.C. the week of Dec. 4, arrived at the video conference to greet the students at Whitman and those in their own country.

At the conference, Pashayeva told the students she thought it was a wonderful experience to see them connect through the video conferencing technology. "Now that I see the result of this project, I am very proud," she said. "It used to be just an idea, and now it is reality where we can work with each other and learn more about each other."

Jacobson said she enjoyed learning about the differences between the cultures, but also began to appreciate some similarities. "It was really funny and cool to learn that we even have some of the same dance styles."

Aisenberg asked the Azerbaijani students what they do for fun, to which they responded that they watch movies and listen to music, much of which parallel teenage hobbies in the United States. "We all like different bands, but I like listening to Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath," one said.

When Jacobson asked the Azerbaijani teens about their impressions of the United States, the students agreed that they viewed the United States as a powerful nation. "We think you are very hard-working and we think of you as a democracy with a big future," another said.

Whitman and Azerbaijani students in the video conference also discussed other differences between their countries. Jacobson described the weather and seasonal changes in D.C., while Kent explained the American education system. However, the students struggled through describing certain cultural aspects, and Aisenberg ran into trouble when he tried to explain the sport of lacrosse.

Goodwin told the Azerbaijani students that he hopes to explore topics such as music and art during future conversations. "I appreciate your helping us learn about your country and culture, and letting us talk a little bit about ours," he said.

By Eliza Kern

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