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Fight ing Fahrenheit in 512 Through Chipotle, Hebrew and arriving late, Friesem brothers acclimate to America co-editor-in-chief
Kai Friesem hates talking about the weather. And it?s not only because he firmly believes that Texas has environmental mood swings?a statement he stands by?but because instead of using Celsius, like the rest of the world, the U.S. measures temperature in Fahrenheit. ?I think it?s so stupid,?Kai chuckled. ?You guys don?t use the metric system, which is idiotic. Everyone else does, but America just hasto be different.? The Friesem brothers, senior Kai and twin sophomores Lyrr and Theo, moved from Tel Aviv, Israel, in August and settled in Austin to begin high school in the States, where they were immediately welcomed by the Knight baseball team. The first time the brothers practiced with their teammates over the summer, Kai thought he was going to die. ?We asked Andy [Honea] how hot it gets and he replied with, ?Oh, it gets up to like 100,?and I thought there is no way it can get up to 100, that is boiling. You burn and die at 100,?Kai said. ?Then I had to learn about the Fahrenheit, which is stupid. So all in all, a great first memory.? While they are now settled and somewhat acclimated, to Theo, the move was sudden. ?It was kinda surprising,?Theo said. ?Our mom, who works at Apple, had been telling us we were going to move for a while, but we only found out like six months before. It was abrupt.? The family was supposed to move earlier, but COVID-19 hit and thwarted their original timeline. Moving to America came with a few distinct changes after years of schooling in Israel. ?You watch American TV and movies and how they portray high school in the States," Kai said. "But it really is not like what you see in
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movies. It?s really different.? ?Fast food, that is the big A difference cited by the boys: the difference,?Lyrr said. ?The fast food in change in language. Israel does not compare to America, ?The primary language in Israel is especially the classic deliciousness that Hebrew,?Kai said. is Chipotle.? ?It is somewhat thing that's You watch American trueOne weird because we wherever the shows, TV and movies Friesem?s find now have to take English literature and how they portrayhigh themselves: and math classes. school in the States.But it brotherly love. I don?t like To Kai, it seems really is not what you healthy writing all the for see in the movies. essays. But, in brothers to argue, baseball when and Lyrr is the ? senior Kai Friesem Lyrr does not instigator of all. know what the signs mean, I just tell ?Of, course, it?s natural for brothers him in Hebrew. So hopefully none of to argue; it sets nature in balance,?he our opponents know Hebrew.? said. ?And Lyrr definitely causes the Teammate and friend Andy most issues.? Honea sees their bilingualism as a ?And is the messiest, and is never scare tactic. ready on time," Theo added. ?When they talk in Hebrew, I think This second-rate time management it psychs out the other team?it's a bit skill has led to many memorable disorienting,?Honea said. ?They can?t adventures. pick up what the brothers are putting ?He never has things organized; down. It?s especially funny when Kai whenever we leave the house he can yells, and he tends to do that a lot.? never be ready two minutes early, it's Lyrr, conversely, is focused on the either on the dot or late,?Kai said. culinary aspect of life in America. In fact, their daily Tel Aviv bus stop The Friesem's cuisine in Israel dash is something Lyrr consisted of meats, bread, salads, oddly misses. hummus, lots of olive oil, lemon and ?In Israel, we spices?something they described as always had to run fulfilling and satisfactory but to our bus,?he incomparable to Chipotle. said. ?We
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BELOW: The Frisesem brothers Theo (age 9), Kai (age 11), and Lyrr (age 9) pose with the Sharon Region Juvenile division trophy after a summer baseball league game in Tel Aviv. Photo courtesy of Kai Friesem.
ABOVE: The Friesem brothers Theo (15), Kai (18) and Lyrr (15) pose after a morning Mac baseball practice. Photo by Grace Nugent
would have to sprint to get on. Our daily sprint. But that bus driver was the best; he would stop the bus for us and sometimes he would take us to lunch after school.? To teammates and friends, each Friesem?s distinct personality is unmistakable, even when they are lumped together. ?Theo is calm and keeps everyone grounded,?Honea said. ?Lyrr is confident, outgoing and a tad bit off the wall, and Kai is in between, the comical man, the fun dad of the three.? Ez Guenther, a friend of the brothers, artfully describes the twins as fire and ice. To this point, the day he met Lyrr was unforgettable. ?The first time I met Lyrr, he asked me to do a pull-up challenge,?Guenther said. ?He then proceeded to do 20 pull-ups and promptly pass out. Lyrr Friesem, ladies and gentlemen. I was honestly very impressed.? But Lyrr and Theo?s biggest pet peeve with life at Mac is the mispronunciation of their names. ?Kai is lucky his name is never mispronounced; it makes me so mad,? Lyrr said. ?The baseball team has nicknamed me ?Lurr.?I blame Andy.? Honea, however, has a backstory to the nickname. ?We call Lyrr ?Lurr?because one day we had a substitute, and she pronounced it ?Lurr?and followed it up with ?What kind of name is that?'?he said. ?Lyrr was not amused.? Theo has the same issue. ?Everybody thinks it's Th-eo but it?s T-O,?he said with a laugh. ?Americans will never learn.? Kai, Lyrr and Theo plan to play baseball this summer for the Israel U18 team in the Maccabiah Games?what Theo refers to as the Jewish Olympics. And while Kai is looking forward to revisiting a country that uses Celsius, even if just for a brief spell, being with his brothers is always a comfort. "Whether the temperature is measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit or whatever continent I'm on," he said, "everything is constant and easier when I'm with those two."
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6,042 miles. Despite being across the globe, now is not the time to turn a blind eye to Ukraine SHIELD STAFF As war rages and images of crying children and dead civilians flash across television screens, newspapers and social media feeds, Ukraine has become associated with tragedy. Faced with inhumanity, people far removed for the direct conflict have begun the process of humanizing a country halfway across the world. That is, until they turn off the TV. Though this is no doubt a natural reaction, we must recognize that there?s a privilege that comes with turning away the second we begin to feel inklings of discomfort. The "out of sight, out of mind" mentality becomes even more tempting in our new digital age. As we sit comfortably on our couches, scrolling on our iPhones, the ability to detach from tragedy is nothing but a click away. The temptation to detach completely from the Ukrainian war is further compounded by the hopelessness that seeps into us when we do choose to pay attention. As we watch a conflict halfway across the globe, a conflict that even the world?s leading politicians don?t know how to deal with, the inevitable question arises: what can I possibly do? As students with admittedly limited knowledge about complex foreign affairs, we?re not prepared to offer up geopolitical solution to this devastating conflict; however, as we continue to navigate this tragedy ourselves, we suggest to our fellow students two things: 1) to be genuine and 2) to not look away. Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, social media erupted with infographics trying to explain the conflict, people promoting charities and food drives and others offering their general support to the people of Ukraine. The national/global tragedy to social media pipeline has become a key tenet of Gen Z culture and that isn?t necessarily a bad thing; offering support and solidarity isn?t something to be scorned. We do believe that discussing the war in Ukraine ? whether it be in
Graphic by Kai Kirkham. real life or online ? is better than completely turning a blind eye. From time to time, however, it?s healthy for individuals to inspect where their intentions may lie. Next time, before re-posting an Instagram infographic or changing profile pictures to the Ukrainian flag, perhaps ask yourself ? why am I doing this?Am I doing this to try and help Ukraine? Or am I doing this so that my followers can see that I?m trying to help? As we stated earlier, we are not suggesting that solidarity isn?t worthwhile; however, true solidarity extends beyond just re-posts, shares and declaring how much of a tragedy the situation is. Solidarity is also an internal thing: in taking the
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time to truly try and understand what people are going through, Graphic when by Anna in not turning away from the television yourMcClellan. stomach begins to feel sick. Above all, we must recognize that as students, the feelings of hopelessness, despair and confusion we may be feeling regarding how to react to this tragedy pale in comparison to the feelings of those fighting for their survival in Ukraine. We urge the members of the McCallum community not to shift this narrative of tragedy to a narrative of their own virtue and ultimately, continue paying attention to Ukraine. Donate, volunteer, listen to Ukrainian voices, but out of respect for our fellow human beings, do not turn a blind eye.
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A.N. McCallum High School 5600 Sunshine Drive Austin, TX 78756 (512) 414-7539 fax (512) 453-2599 contact.macshield@gmail.com
editors-in-chief
ALYSA BIJL-SPIRO, MADELYNN NILES, GRACE NUGENT, SAMANTHA POWERS
assist ant editors EVIE BARNARD, JOSIE BRADSBY, EVELYN GRIFFIN, LUCY MARCO, ANNA MCCLELLAN, THOMAS MELINARAAB, SOFIA RAMON, LYDIA REEDY, THEO ROE, ALICE SCOTT, ELISHA SCOTT, KENNEDYWEATHERBY
adviser DAVE WINTER
reporters ZAHRAA AL-OGAILI, MELIAH ARIAS, OLIVER BOYD, KATE BOYLE, AMAYA COLLIER, LOGAN DAVIS, NAOMI DI-CAPUA, MORGAN EYE, CHRIS FERINA, LEAH GORDON, JULIA HUSTED, ELIZA JENSEN, SOPHIE KESSLER, KAI KIRKHAM MACIAS, SOPHIE LEUNG-LIEU, CASSIDY LEVIN, JULIAN MAGEE, HELEN MARTIN, DEVIN NEAL, CAROLINE OWEN, LANIE SEPEHRI, INGRID SMITH, ELENA ULACK, GRACE VITALE, FRANCIE WILHELM, TOBIN WINE. The Shield is publishedby journalism studentsin the newspaperproductionclass. Althoughstudentswork under the guidance of a professionalfacultymember,the student staff ultimatelydeterminesthe content. Studentsmay not publishmaterialthat is obscene,libelousor that which will cause a ?substantialdisruptionto the educational process.?Content that may stimulateheated debate is not includedin this definition.
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The Shield operatesas an open forum for exchangeof ideas.Opinionsexpressedin editorialsare the ideasof the staff. Opinions expressedin the columnsare that of the writer?salone. Lettersto the editor are encouragedand must be signed.Positive identificationmay be required when a letter is submitted. Lettersmay be edited. Lettersthat are critical of the newspaper staff?scoverageof eventsor that present
informationthat may stimulateheated debate will be published. Lettersthat containmaliciousattackson individualreporters,the adviseror the principalwill be rejected. Anyone interestedin purchasingan ad should contact adviserDave Winterat (512) 414-7539.Ads publishedin The Shield do not necessarilyreflect the opinionsof the staff.
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