Calabasas opens arms to exchange program




CROSS CULTURE-Some of the 20 Spanish exchange students who spent four weeks this summer living with families in Calabasas gather with their group leader, Carol Casden, (back row, fifth from left) to compare notes on their experiences living abroad.

CROSS CULTURE-Some of the 20 Spanish exchange students who spent four weeks this summer living with families in Calabasas gather with their group leader, Carol Casden, (back row, fifth from left) to compare notes on their experiences living abroad.


The Center for Cultural Interchange brought 20 teenagers from Spain to experience life in America while residing with families in Calabasas.

The teens, who stayed for four weeks, have already headed home to Spain with dozens of stories to tell about their time in the U.S. And you never know just what those stories will entail.

One of the students, Antoni Adrower, 17, will undoubtedly be telling the tale of how, upon his arrival in June, he immediately came down with appendicitis.

“On the very first night that they were here, we had our welcome party, and (Antoni) ended up in the emergency room,” said Carol Casden, group leader for the center. “He ended up with a burst appendix,” and spent two weeks at West Hills Hospital. His parents were flown out to join him during his recovery.

CCI is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to help place youth and adult foreign exchange students in American homes year round. The organization’s goals are to promote cultural understanding, academic development and world peace through international exchange.

“These students are learning a new culture, they’re seeing a new city and they’re living independently,” Casden said.

Even though all of the Spanish students spoke English, they attended English classes three days a week. They absorbed American culture during visits to various landmarks including the Getty Museum, Venice Beach, Malibu, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios and Disneyland. They also took a trip to Las Vegas.

“The host parents went way out of their way to take them everywhere,” Casden said. “The families have opened up their homes, given parties and they’ve done whatever they can do out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s been great.”

The hospitalized Antoni missed out on some of the activities the other exchange students took part in, but his host family tried to help him see just as many sights, Casden said.

The student wasn’t available to comment for this story because he was out and about last week in a mad rush to see everything he could before he and his fellow students returned to Spain.

During their time in the U.S., the exchange students were hosted by The Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center at welcome and departure dinners, as well as other day activities. The Country Inn and Suites in Calabasas offered conference rooms for classrooms and the city of Calabasas helped with the cost of transportation. Local businesses donated various items and several Calabasas families took in students.

“The people here in Calabasas have been really gracious . . . My dream is to leave a legacy here in this city. We’ve worked very, very hard to get a place like Calabasas known for doing something like this,” said Casden.

For more information about CCI, call Thas Abraham at (818) 359-3618 or Casden at (818) 760-2977.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *