Exchange students go on the air

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A flurry of instructions, in English and Spanish, filled the small control booth and spilled out into the studio as students from Santa Barbara and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, prepared to produce their first live broadcast.
Then, as the numbers slowly ticked off the monitors above the control panel and a headphone-adorned teen signaled to the cast with a raised hand, the studio grew quiet.
“Roll intro,” Saul Gomez said, and broadcast began.

Gomez, who works with Santa Barbara Channels, brought exchange students from Santa Barbara’s sister city, Puerto Vallarta, into the studio with local kids, offering them a chance to experience the world of television, from both behind and in front of the camera.
“What I wanted to do this time is create a show with them, to train them in the use of our equipment,” Gomez told the Daily Sound.
The students, ages ranging from 15 to 17, interviewed each other about their relative trips to Santa Barbara and Puerto Vallarta. Eight teens from Mexico joined six local students from San Marcos and Santa Barbara High Schools to produce the show yesterday, broadcasting it live over Channel 21.
The opportunity to appear on television had some nervous and others excited. When asked if they were anxious in the few moments before the tape started rolling, Maite Lopez and Nallely Zarete chimed in at the same time:
“Yeah.”
“No.”
Lopez, a 15-year-old San Marcos student, said learning how to use the television gadgetry was “very interesting” and her interest in production is growing. Zarete, 16, is visiting from Puerto Vallarta, and had Lopez help translate some words for her.
“Yesterday we went down State [Street] and there were a lot of shops,” Zarete said. “It was a lot of fun.”
In the first segment, Zarete ran a Powerpoint presentation showing photos from the trip Santa Barbara students took to Puerto Vallarta a few months ago, during spring break. As she scrolled through the photos, out in the studio other students discussed the images and the trip, which featured a hiking trip, a boat cruise and a canopy tour.
The biggest difference between the two cities is their weather, judging from the amount of time dedicated to that topic.
“In Puerto Vallarta, it’s hot,” Zarete confirmed. “Here it is very, very cold.”
Only a few bumpy moments surfaced during filming, and the teens handled them smoothly as they discussed a range of topics in both English and Spanish, from how people in Puerto Vallarta seemed more welcoming and friendly to their first impressions when they met their exchange students and host families.
Channel 21 will rebroadcast the hour-long program at various times until next Friday. The next showing will take place this Saturday at both 12:30 and 7 p.m. Gomez, who started bringing exchange students from Santa Barbara’s sister city into the studio last year, said the project has been very successful.
“I think it’s a wonderful experience for kids that age,” Gomez said. “They’ll be able to see the possibility for their future, that it’s possible if they apply themselves.”