For all their lives, they had lived on opposite sides of the world, yet for one week they lived on opposite sides of a hotel room. On Feb. 15-21, junior Matt Nelson and sophomore Grant Hewitt embarked on an intellectual, as well as cultural, journey through the Close-Up foundation. Their roommates traveled from Pakistan to be part of the international program. “Ayoz and Balil were very into American culture,” said Nelson. “They really liked things like rap because they can’t get that where they’re from.” Besides social differences, the Ecuadoran roommates of FHS sophomores Amber Arvidson and Terri Weyrauch appreciated the cleanliness of American cities. “They thought it was nice and clean here,” said sophomore Amber Arvidson. “Where they live, it’s really dirty; there are three rats per home.” Sophomore Brittney Whaley realized that cultural differences can be found within our own nation. Her roommates, Nina and Ashley, were from Arkansas, and differences included Nina having only 13 students in her graduating class. “Our roommates said that where they lived it was really stressful to go to school,” said Whaley. “Plus, their schools were really small.” No matter where a student’s roommates were from, everyone had to go through a period of getting to know one another. “At first our roommates were really secretive,” said senior Laura Hamilton. “Through the week, they opened up a lot more.” Within the medley of cultures, students learned to put their differences aside and got to know each other for who they were. “Nobody thought Montanans were that nice at first because they had never met any,” said junior Sarah McClure. “Then by the end a lot of people said that Montanans were the nicest people there.” |
