Kannika Chaisri and Sophie Urban never imagined their cultures would one day meet in America. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz
By Patricia Ortiz
Being away from home can be tough. With the school year wrapping up, the foreign exchange students talk about how their year in the U.S. has gone.
This year has been a new year of new adventures. These new adventures have been for everyone including the foreign exchange students. Many new adventures have occurred since the beginning of the year for the foreign exchange students. School has provided different experiences for the foreign exchange girls at Plymouth. Senior Misaki Fukawa explains how school is going right now. She says “It is not bad and it is better than the beginning of the school year.” Of course at the beginning of the school year it may have been tough not knowing anyone and being at a large school where anyone can get lost. Senior Kannika Chaisri explains how school is. She says “I think everything is going well now.” Like Chaisri, Senior Sophie Urban also says, “ I think school is going pretty good for me.” Things can turn out for the better when people keep a positive attitude and work towards goals that need to be accomplished.
Being away from home for more than six months can cause nostalgia for certain things. Some can miss families while others can miss their customs. Fukowa misses, “ Japanese food a lot.” Food can definitely be missed especially if it is a home cooked meal prepared by mom. Others missed being with family for the holidays and other special events. Urban explains that she missed home because of Christmas and her sister’s birthday. Of course there are ways to get over homesickness. Chaisri has a plan to get over being homesick, “ make myself busy.” Staying active and not thinking about home are good ways to not miss home so much.
Many new experiences have happened in the United States since the foreign exchange students arrived. They were able to experience holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s day. Of Fukowa’s experiences her two favorite have been, “ Christmas and the Chicago trip.” Christmas is always a favorite especially when people experience it through another culture. A holiday or a trip do not necessarily have to be favorite experiences. Being part of a team or meeting new people can all be great things that make for a favorite experience. “ My favorite experience is being on the swim team,” explains Chaisri about her favorite experience in the U.S. Like Chaisri, Urban says, “ Joining marching band and gymnastics,” have been her favorite experiences.
Snow is very typical in Indiana during the months of December, January, and sometimes February. The first time little kids see snow it is exciting because it is a new experience. Coming from a country were there is no snow can certainly leave an impression on the life of that individual. Fukowa said, “ I expected to have more snow. I was more surprised about the temperature than the snow. It is so cold.” Many of the people would agree with Fukowa about how cold it has gotten here in the past few months. For other foreign exchange students like Urban snow is typical in their native country so it came as no surprise.
Every year Plymouth High School has foreign exchange students from around the globe. Of course with the student body and faculty getting to know those student’s life can change. Fukowa explained that she really did not think she had made an impact in the life of her peers. Many would not agree with Fukowa and instead say that in fact she has impacted the life of others around her. Her different culture has helped people realize what goes on around the world. That is in fact what happened to Chaisri. She states that, “ My friends are more interested in Thailand, Thai language and Thai culture because it is so different from American culture.” Thanks to the foreign exchange students, students at Plymouth High School are now able to understand and know about different cultures from around the globe.
The year is slowly coming to a close. Before students know it, it will be May and students will all have to say good-bye. Many things still need to be accomplished before the end of the year. The foreign exchange students were asked what they still hope to accomplish before the end of the school year. Chaisri would like to, “ Speak English very well because English is an important language.” Fukowa wants to also improve her English and hopes to, “ make more friends.”