A Service of The Arrow             Friday September 29, 2000

   The stress of life in a foreign country is not easy for anyone, and at times it can be difficult to bear. Nine foreign exchange students made a decision to leave all that was familiar to come to America and to completely expose themselves to our culture. But they often have found striking similarities to their hometowns. "I’m shocked that I’m not shocked," said Kate Janson of Poland.

Tobias Biermann, 16 -Dortmund, Germany

Activities at home: running, skateboarding, mountain biking, snowboarding, scouting

Activities here: cross country, visiting Canada, waterskiing, tubing, horseback riding

Something different: Tobias went horseback riding for the first time here and got dressed up like a real cowboy.

Hello: Hallo!

Rodrigo Ferriera, 16 - Belem, Brazil

Activities at home: soccer, swimming

Activities here: recreational soccer, swim team

Something different: Rodrigo used to have maids to do his chores, but now lives on a farm and helps to muck the smelly barn!

Hello: Oi!

Norman Wapner, 16 - Malchin, Germany

Activities at home: soccer

Activities here: recreational soccer, snowboarding

Something different: Norman misses his German sausages because there is nothing like them here.

Hello: Hallo!

Helen Ivarsson, 18 - Karlstad, Sweden

Activities at home: floor hockey with whiffle ball

Activities here: cross country

Something different: Helen was afraid of getting fat from eating American food, but she’s not fat, and she’s already eating corn dogs.

Hello: Hej! (hey)

Diego Velez, 18 - Medellin, Colombia

Activities at home: swimming

Activities here: recreational soccer, swim team

Something different: Diego commented that in his school there are not any cameras in the halls.

Hello: Hola! (ola)

Kate Janson, 17 - Gliwice, Poland

Activities at home: skiing, tennis, basketball

Activities here: alpine club, swim team, tennis, speech

Something different: Kate never thought she’d really be an exchange student.

"My parents asked me if I wanted to go. I said yes, (but) I thought it was a joke."

Hello: Czesc! (tresht)

Knut Bergbom, 17 - Kiruna, Sweden

Activities at home: skateboarding, snowboarding, roller blading, hiking

Activities here: biking, travelling to WA, hiking, swimming

Something different: In Sweden, Knut had 20 minute to 2 hour breaks between classes, and the teachers moved from room to room. Here he has to run from class to class.

Hello: Hej (hey)

Larissa Ribeiro, 16 - Sao Paulo, Brazil

Activities at home: capoeira, soccer

Activities here: recreational soccer

Something different: Larissa is experienced at capoeira, which is a type of mock fighting where you never touch your opponent.

Hello: Oi!

--In Depth  By Julia McKinnon and KC McBroom

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