Foreign Exchange Students

A dream we all wish to achieve

As each and every one of us grow up and learn about our country, we all wonder about all the other countries in this world; all the other cultures and customs. Every year we a have so many new Foreign Exchange students from all around the world, fulfilling their dream to come to America. This 2011-2012 year we have 15 foreign exchange students living the American life style for nine months. Each exchange student has a host family here in Wichita, Kansas.

Andrea Mezquida-

Hometown- Barcelona, Spain

Torrent is from Barcelona, the actual capital of European soccer and the Olympic city in 1992; a city that has a bit of everything. All of this and more is in Spain. Her country is not very big but has a lot of history and charm like every place in this world. Andrea says “I’ve been dreaming of coming to America for three years now and finally it is real, I want to see the world, know different people and customs.” Andrea loves nature, animals and sports such as tennis, soccer, sailing, canoeing, diving and cycling. She listens to lots of music, Bob Marley and the Beatles especially, and she loves fruits, cooking, writing and art in general.

Juliane Selle-

Hometown- Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

The population is a bit smaller than Wichita but very beautiful and steeped in history. They have lots of public transportation and they walk or ride trams and buses. Everything is historic and beautiful in Germany.

Pia-

Hometown- Hamburg, Germany

Pia has a family of four: her two parents and her brother who is two years younger than her. She enjoys shopping with friends and just hanging out around town. Pia plays field hockey every other day. The only differences between Germany and America are they use more public transportation than we do and the food is less healthy. She loves all the school spirit, football games and playing tennis for Heights High School.

Sara Amorim Queroz-

Hometown- Lisbon, Portugal

Sara lives with her parents and three brothers. Portugal is a small country in the southwest area of Europe, it has many coasts and is always sunny and peaceful. They have wine valleys and nice beaches from north to south. The differences between Portugal and our country are they eat a lot of fish and they kiss on the cheek for hello and goodbye and the drinking age is 16. Sara enjoys going to the beach, being involved in church activities, and going out and being with family and friends. She is so thankful that everyone is so nice here.

Erik Fasta-

Hometown- Slovakia

Slovakia is a small country in the middle of Europe. There are mountains everywhere; it is always 75-80 degrees out. During the winter he enjoys skiing, snowboarding and during the summer he goes hiking and goes on trips. He enjoys soccer, violin and learning languages. Differences between Slovakia and America are the temperature changes, and that we use cars for everything.

Anuch Jirapinyo (Kaow)-

Hometown- Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand is the country of rice, elephants and the smile. Bangkok, the capital of Thailand is a big city. Thailand is the tropical country; the weather is always hot and has only three seasons, summer, rainy and winter. Thailand is in South East Asia near Vietnam and Burma. The differences: in Thailand they have “Muay Thai” which is like kick boxing but you can only use your knee and elbow to fight; also things there are less expensive. Kaow enjoys tennis and swimming. He studys at an all boy school where they have to wear uniforms: a white shirt and black shorts.

Lene Jahobsen-

Hometown- Stavanger, Norway

Stavanger, “the oil capital”, is the biggest city in Norway and lies by the coast. Where she lives, she can walk to the ocean from her house. Lene has been to the United States many times before. The differences between Norway and here are the expenses, schooling and the fashion.

Hannah Ana-

Hometown- Karisrune, Germany

The population is the size of Wichita. In Germany it is more popular to own an apartment instead of a house. Karisrune is the perfect place for kids to grow up; there are lots of green places and playgrounds. In Germany the students stay in one classroom together while teachers move around room to room instead of the students changing rooms. Hannah has played tennis for the past 4 years and was apart of Wichita Heights tennis team.

Cristina Martinez-

Hometown- Chile, South America

She is the youngest of 6 siblings and both her parents are doctors. Her country is filled with mountains, snow, beach, rivers, desert and forest. Her school back home only has 400 students from kindergarten to senior year, and you have the same people in your class all 13 years of being in school. Cristina is very greatful to be here, she said, “It is hard to be an exchange student, asking people for rides and sometimes not knowing what people are talking about.” Cristina said the general perception of the U.S. is fast food, football games, mean girls and the cheerleaders.

Pedro Morcero-

Hometown- Rio De Janerio

The population is 9 million people (20 times the size of Wichita.) Instead of cars they have lots of public transportation like subways and buses. In Brazil the law is no drinking, smoking or driving until the age of 18. Brazil is a very tropical country in South America and their language is Portuguese. It is hot almost all year long.

Gabriela Fronceshe-

Hometown- Sao Paulo, Brazil

It is one of the biggest cities in Brazil. This city is very similar to New York; it has lots of traffic and lots of public transportation. They have lots of malls, beaches, bowling, places to dance, restaurants, parks, clubs, and many kinds of entertainment. The schools in Brazil are very hard; they have all the same subject’s just harder ways of teaching. They wear uniforms.