FREEPORT – Exchange students from Freeport High School brought an international flair to Durham Community School third-grade classrooms last week.

Seniors Frederick Lindhard of Denmark, Marta Krzyzaniak of Poland, Opal Suvannasaroje of Thailand, Nico Lizasoain of Spain and Carole Haener of Switzerland spoke of their food, weather, holidays, customs, laws, dress and more. Dede Bennell, service learning coordinator at Freeport High, brought the five students to social studies classes taught by Lynn Perrotta and Celeste Emery. Three exchange students chatted with the students for half an hour in Perrotta’s classroom and the other two in Emery’s class. Then they switched. They ended the half-hour stints by saying something in their national tongues. Then Haener, in English, wished them all “Merry Christmas.”

Lindhard said that Christmas is “big” in Denmark.

“We cut our own trees,” he said. “We dance around them and sing songs.”

Lindhard also told the students that people are generally happy in his country. They eat a lot of meat, potatoes and red cabbage, and the Christmas meal is roast pork, he said. Students and teachers alike were surprised to hear Lindhard say that Danes dip their potatoes in caramel.

Krzyzaniak knows all about potatoes.

“We eat a lot of potatoes and cabbage,” she told the students. “Our national food is called pierogi, a dough with fillings inside.”

Krzyzaniak said that Poles celebrate most of the holidays that Americans observe, with the one major exception being Halloween.

“All Saints’ Day is the day after Halloween,” she said. “We visit families and go to cemeteries, and pray to help them get to heaven. Almost everybody is Christian. It’s a very nice holiday. I like it a lot.”

Haener said that in Switzerland, people eat a lot of cheese.

“It’s a really nice country,” she said. “We always have a big fire and fireworks at Christmas. We have three official languages – Italian, French and German. In school we talk German.”

Perrotta’s students had their questions all prepared, and raised their hands to ask them once their guests had completed their short talks. Benjamin Burnham asked what kind of cars people in other countries drive. Layna Adkins asked what their flags look like.

Haener then thanked the students for allowing her and her friends to visit the school.

“I hope very much we could answer your questions,” she said.

Perrotta said she had asked a friend who is hosting one of the exchange students if the students might want to visit her classroom.

“The idea came up to ask all the exchange students,” Perrotta said. “I then contacted Dede Bennell and she made it happen. This is the first year of doing this, but I have hopes of making it an annual event.

“I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity for my classroom and the other third-graders at DCS. I did invite one student’s uncle in who has been living in Japan through the military and my class was enraptured by his stories and information.”

The visit from the exchange students was part of the third-grade social studies unit on other countries.

“As we ‘travel’ around the world, each student has a ‘passport’ in which they record information about different countries,” Perrotta said. “They love looking at pictures and hearing about other traditions. They always want more, so inviting in the true experts seemed like a good idea.”

The third-graders culminated the social studies unit Dec. 18, with an “International Feast.” Parents and students enjoyed lunch in the classrooms with a diverse potluck.

“This is a wonderful way to end this unit and celebrate the season,” Perrotta said, “and has been a tradition at Durham Community School for a number of years.”

Carole Haener of Switzerland, right, talks of her country to third-graders at Durham Community School last week. To the left is Marta Krzyzaniak of Poland, and in the middle is Frederick Lindhard of Denmark.