The two are busy exchanging notes — in Spanish
By: Rachel Silverman
Princeton resident Priscilla Russel and Argentine visitor Analía Pedemonte are inseparable these days.
They live together. They work together. They even ride bikes around town together.
For the next few weeks, the two women recently awarded slots in the illustrious, intercontinental Fulbright Exchange program will be busy exchanging notes, in Spanish.
Through the exchange, Ms. Pedemonte, a native of Argentina, is spending three weeks in Princeton, observing the Princeton Regional School District. Next summer, Ms. Russel, who serves as the district’s supervisor of world languages, will visit her counterpart in Argentina.
Ms. Pedemonte is a science and math teacher, as well as a vice principal. Her school el Instituto Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia serves some 1,200 students in the province of Cordoba. The Catholic school was founded in 1837.
Speaking in Spanish on Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Pedemonte explained her interest in learning more about interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as technological resources in Princeton.
She said the main purpose of her visit is to take copious notes in the district. To do so, she plans to attend departmental meetings, sit in on classes and chat with Spanish-speaking students. Ms. Pedemonte will then return to Argentina, share her research and try to implement some of Princeton’s best practices.
Ms. Russel, who is fluent in Spanish, said her main role as a Fulbright Exchange Program participant is to aid her Argentine counterpart.
"I’m just delighted to be a facilitator," she said.
Though she is an avid traveler, the trip to Argentina will be a first for Ms. Russel.
"Once a year, I make it a point to go to a Spanish-speaking country," she said. "I’m really looking forward to Argentina."
Ms. Russel, a published author, previously worked as a Spanish teacher at John Witherspoon Middle School. She said she hopes to sharpen her language skills and gain a better cultural understanding from the experience.
Ms. Russel is one of about 170 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2005-2006 academic year through the Fulbright Exchange Program. The program, which gets its name from founder and former Arkansas Sen. J. William Fulbright, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since its inception, the exchange has provided more than 250,000 people including 100,900 U.S. citizens a chance to study, teach or research abroad. The program operates in more than 150 countries.
Ms. Russel and Ms. Pedemonte are participants in a specific exchange that allows Argentine school administrators to shadow their U.S. counterparts. The program, which placed 16 Argentines in the U.S. this year, also gives American administrators a chance to visit the South American nation.

