“Travel is the best education anyone could have”.  CSD International Studies 2022 partnered again with Hands On Travel (HOT) and visited Portugal this year.  We were very fortunate to have the support of the school to continue this program despite the pandemic.  For the last two school years, we were forced to cancel our trips (to Myanmar in 2020 and to Japan in 2021).  We started this year, planning a trip to Japan, but by December, we saw it would be a fruitless endeavor due to Japan’s strict quarantine restrictions.  Fear not, we were able to change destinations to Portugal, a country that is often overlooked but had no quarantine restrictions for travelers.  It turned out to be an amazing trip for the group.  So much was learned, seen, and experienced:  walking up and down steep hills and stairs, seeing Medieval style buildings up close; experiencing the shores of Portugal as well as hidden lakes.  We visited several cities around Portugal:  Lisboa, Porto, Obidos, Braga, Coimbra, Guimaraes and Fatima.  The most rewarding experience was having students bond and grow from this experience.  Much gratitude to our HOT tour guide, Dan Brubaker, and Portugal’s local guide, Mariana Couto Bartolo for planning an unforgettable itinerary.  Gratitude also go to Mariana’s husband, Angelo Bartolo, who is a professional photographer and took such gorgeous photographs of this trip.  The following statements are testimonials from the students:

The international trip to Portugal was one of the most beautiful trips I’ve ever been to. The trip was a rich and authentic experience. Would definitely recommend it to everyone to go there and experience the richness.

-Bodhi Amann, Junior

Portugal was a blissful, enriching change of scenery, culture, and language. I loved meeting local Deaf Portuguese people and visiting little rural towns with colorful houses, country musicians, and plants everywhere. I couldn't have asked for a better trip!

-Chang-May Tan, Junior

Honestly, this experience was one of the richest experiences that I ever had. learning about their culture and history amazed me. if you see the opportunity to go, grab the opportunity, you will not regret it!

-Shaelyn Johnson, Junior

I enjoyed the Portugal trip very much because I learned a lot about history, churches, castles, and food! It taught me a lot and changed me as a new person after I returned back to school. I am very glad that I joined international studies.  It was definitely fun and the best! 

-Adin Blevins, Junior

My experience in Portugal is an amazing opportunity to learn about new things. Portugal gave me my happy moments. Portugal's people are wonderful.

-Zorina Zoe Briseno, Sophomore

I had a wonderful time in Portugal on the International Studies trip! It taught me a lot about Portuguese culture, history, language, and food, which has inspired me to become a traveler someday. Additionally, I have many good memories of my trip to Portugal with my International Studies classmates.

-Jaden Goff, Sophomore

I really enjoyed going to Portugal for 2 weeks. I would love to go back again! Traveling is a really fun way to learn their history and activities. I really appreciate that we understood everything and their history with class preparation and visiting the actual places.

-Michael Franquez, Senior

I learned a lot about history in Portugal. I love to eat Portugal’s delicious foods. I never want to leave Portugal.

-Viktoria Finnstrom, Junior

It was one of the best experiences in my life. It improves my social skills. It impacts my deaf identity too in Portugal compared to America. 

-Daniel Fuentes, Junior

I enjoy Portugal and trips to Portugal and learning about the history and enjoying at lake and beach I like again to see Portugal and have a really good time in Portugal 

-Andrew Garza Briseno, Senior

My experience in this international study in Portugal is fantastic. I can finally experience what it feels like to fly out of the state. It was a long trip, but it is still worth going to Portugal and now next is Thailand and Cambodia so I’m looking forward to seeing them.

-Isaac Lee, Junior

It was such a rich experience that taught me so much about myself and others. I gained perspective on how fortunate we are for our rights as Deaf people. And overall, it gave me an experience I’ll never forget.

-Zoe Bell, Sophomore

This international studies class has taught me that learning another language and culture isn't easy, as well as how beneficial it is to learn and study things before touring that country. It has taught me also how little we know about other countries and how there is so much out there waiting for us to see.

-Christopher Navarrete-Pleitez, Senior

International Studies class is truly the best. The numerous opportunities, personal growth, and knowledge I gained from this is unforgettable and something I will keep with me closely for the rest of my life. Thank you Stacy Eilbert, Susana Acosta, Jeff Bibb and Sulghi Hong for making this trip possible and the best!

- Landen Gonzales, Junior

Dean of Students Ethan Bernstein shares class statistics and words of wisdom with the senior class 

Director of Instruction Len Gonzales celebrates the graduating senior “eagles”. 

Emcees Miguel Sombrerero and Daniel Fuentes assist Adin Blevins in unveiling the senior class portrait 

On May 11th, the junior class hosted the Senior Banquet for the graduating class of 2022. Chairpersons Adin Blevins, Landen Gonzales, Johnte Haggins, and Shaelyn Johnson planned “A Time in Modern Greece” for the seniors. The seniors were treated to a delicious Greek menu that was expertly prepared by CSD’s own Nutritional Services team. The junior servers pampered their guests with table service for the meal and beverages and made sure that the evening was an enjoyable one. The seniors were also enlightened by words of wisdom from our Superintendent Clark Brooke, our Director of Instruction Len Gonzales, and our Dean of Students Ethan Bernstein. At the end of the night, the seniors were surprised by the unveiling of their wonderfully displayed senior class portrait. A good time was had by all! 

The seniors celebrate their night together 

The juniors and seniors celebrate their successful night together 

Superintendent Clark Brooke shares words of wisdom with the senior class 

Shiran Zhavian joined us through the zoom conference, met with the Forensic Science class, and was delighted to describe her educational and professional background. She explained that she volunteered to work in different lab companies, and she encouraged my students to volunteer in various job positions to make their resumes look exemplary. She answered my students' profound questions about self-advocacy, fighting for her rights and needs. She overcame communication barriers and proved that she is capable of anything as a Deaf employee, utilizing different communication strategies. The emphasis became more on her professional skills and experiences, not her being Deaf.

Shiran is currently working for DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) as a forensic chemist to focus on drug testing and unknown substances. Before she got hired, she waited for a few months and did not hear any news from DEA. She decided to follow up with Human Resources (HR) and asked why she was not hired. She was determined to fight for this position she felt qualified for by contacting the interpreting agency and securing interpreters. Ultimately, she was hired and had to endure an 18-week intensive introductory forensic chemist course which provided technical training necessary to conduct drug evidence analysis. Through sign language interpreters, she could participate in class discussions fully and ask questions for clarification. Her presentation afforded students to gain valuable bits of advice to attain their professional aspirations. Shiran's presentation inspired our students, and it was a real-world forensic job discussion that benefitted the students' understanding of why forensic science matter. She is one of the most significant Deaf science female role models for our students. 

Diedre Tanenberg works for the City and County of San Francisco Department of the Environment (SFE).  She came all the way to CSD and met with my HS Chemistry students in the Student Center. She gave a full presentation related to the zero waste hierarchy, providing examples of the best and highest use of goods and resources.  She demonstrated using props consisting of recyclable and non-recyclable plastics, cardboard boxes, soda cans, and food ware with students. She encouraged students to think about their consumption habits and asked them to properly sort out what items go into which waste stream.  The students were engaged in discussing the issues behind certain materials and considered solutions with her.  She explained that San Francisco has a three-stream materials collection system with recycling in the blue bins, composting in the green bins, and trash in the black or gray bins, and emphasized the importance of keeping these materials separated, clean, and dry. She also shared in-depth information about composting, a favorite subject of hers, and mentioned that food, which often ends up in landfills, creates methane gas, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and worsens the climate crisis.  

The City has proven its system to be effective with over 25 years in waste sorting and thus far has the lowest carbon emissions in the landfilled organics sector. The City has since then updated its pledge to achieve its Zero Waste goal to reduce materials being sent to the landfill and reduce the amount of non-recyclable and non-compostable materials being generated in the first place. This in turn has made a positive impact on counties within the state of California. My students enjoyed her "What Goes Where in Which Bin: A Zero Waste'' presentation. In conclusion, this was an important educational workshop for them to learn and benefit from, not only about the subject but from the subject matter expert providing this presentation exclusively in ASL, for Diedre is hard of hearing and a role model. She would love the opportunity to become a mentor to someone who is interested in the environmental field. 

Adrian Ruiz, Shaila Sams, & Bodhi Amann 

These HS Chemistry/Conceptual Chemistry students got the opportunity to delve into their Mars Mission Team Project, and hands-on Clay / LEGO Build-up work for four weeks. They gave their presentation with their Mars LEGO rovers demo and answered essential questions of their peers. They learned some feedback from their teachers and were encouraged to contribute the amount of their time, energy, and team efforts to this project. Moreover, they learned some Mars facts based on NASA videos. 

Ricardo Zurita Gonzalez & Khalil Andalahao

Viktoria Finnstrom, Shaelyn Johnson, and Miguel Sombrerero

Johnte Haggins & Luis Morales