Pictures, from top: Niskayuna students and their counterparts from Spain visited the Six Flags Great Escape Fright Fest; Exchange students presented information about their high school and culture to Niskayuna studnets; and Niskayuna High School Spanish teachers Lainie Christou and Shana Malkis and Maria Angeles Martinezin and Dimitri Zihlmann from Colegio Agave in Almería, Spain.

A group of 17 students and two teachers from Almería, Spain, spent two weeks earlier this month on an exchange in Niskayuna, getting to know their host students and families in the district, visiting Niskayuna schools and classrooms, and touring some historic, cultural, and recreational sites in the district.

That was before the group from Spain and their counterparts from Niskayuna got to spend a few extra days together when Hurricane Sandy disrupted travel plans.

The visit was part of a new exchange partnership between Niskayuna High School and Colegio Agave in Almería, which is in the coastal Southeastern Andalucia Region of Spain.

The Spanish students stayed with 17 Niskayuna students, 14 of whom will travel to Spain as part of the exchange from March 23 through April 6, 2013. Niskayuna High School Spanish teachers Lainie Christou and Shana Malkis, who hosted Colegio Agave teachers Dimitri Zihlmann and Maria Angeles Martinezin Niskayuna, will be part of that trip.

During the October part of the exchange in Niskayuna, students visited Howe Caverns, Six Flags Great Escape Fright Fest, and the New York State Museum. They went on a haunted hayride, went bowling, played laser tag and did a lot of shopping and friendship bonding in each other’s homes.

During their days in school, they visited the classrooms at the high schools and spent one day at the middle schools giving presentations on life in Spain and in their Spanish high school.

The Almería group then went on to New York City for three days of touring. They were set to fly home early in the week of Oct. 29, but when Hurricane Sandy arrived, they found themselves stranded in the city. They made contact with Christou, who reached out to the district host families and then assured them that they were always welcome back in Niskayuna. The Spanish students and their teachers arrived back in the area on Tuesday, Oct. 30, just in time to participate in a Niskayuna High School Halloween. The Colegio Agave group is planning to fly home on Thursday, Nov. 1.

The Niskayuna group travelling to Spain will spend one week touring the cities of Toledo, Malaga, Sevilla and Madrid, and then spend one week with their host families. During that week, they will spend the day at the host high school.

"This is an integral part of our very successful foreign language program here at Niskayuna High school," said Señora Christou. "In addition we offer foreign exchange programs in Germany, France and a trip to Italy for Latin students. The language immersion and experiences on these trips as well as friendships that are formed are invaluable."