Spanish exchange students meet with Warwick ShopRite dietitian

Warwick - On July 11, a group of Spanish exchange students visiting Warwick as part of a cultural exchange program, met with Melanie Dwornik, R.D., CDN, the retail dietitian at ShopRite of Warwick. The students were scheduled to tour the store, visiting each department and learning to navigate the aisles while Dwornik explained how they can best make nutritious choices. American students may not appreciate this but for a group of foreign exchange students from Spain, a tour of Warwick’s ShopRite can be one of the highlights of their four-week stay in this area. “They do not have supermarkets back home,” said Tiffany Megna, coordinator for finding host families in Warwick for the Spanish students and their group leader. “When they purchase bread or meat or produce they go to individual shops, like a bakery, that specialize in those products. ShopRite is always a favorite on our tour list.” Megna, an area representative for the Center for Cultural Exchange, is a certified teacher, who fondly recalls spending a summer studying in Madrid. “My Spanish is not that good,” she admitted, “so I tell the students that when we converse, they must speak only English and I will only speak Spanish. That way, they can correct my mistakes and they won’t feel as bad when I correct their English. We all benefit.” The Center for Cultural Exchange is a non-profit International education exchange organization. Based in Chicago, Illinois, CCI organizes high school exchange, short-term group home stay, intern and trainee positions and language programs in over 30 countries around the world. Megna, who works as a substitute teacher during the school year, is an area representative for the organization. Her job is to find host families for the exchange students and their chaperones and to arrange tours, fun events and educational programs during their four-week stay. The students receive intensive training in English as a second language, art classes and an introduction to American culture including popular sports like baseball. They also enjoy recreational trips to New York City as well as local water parks and the like. Since group entrance fees are heavily discounted, many of the host families’ children have an opportunity to tag along at the reduced fee. “It’s a win-win,” said Megna. “They all have fun and at the same time they are learning each other’s language and culture.” For information on becoming a host family call Tiffany Megna at 988-0626 or e-mail: 5smiling@warwick.net