Wawasee High School Hosts Gathering Of Exchange Students
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
So was South Korea, Brazil, Denmark, Netherlands and a host of other countries.
It wasn't yet another world beauty pageant, but a gathering of exchange students at Wawasee High School, Syracuse, from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
Saturday night, WHS hosted the 10th annual Exchange Student Celebration. According to Tiffany Adams, regional director for American Scholastic Associates International, the exchange students cook for their host families to taste cuisine from the students' home countries.[[In-content Ad]]The students share their country's culture at the celebration with families to bridge the gap between countries and cultures. Later, after the parents leave, the exchange students and their host siblings hang out together, have fun and bond further. Adams said about 50 exchange students participated in Saturday's event.
"This is our one large event that brings people together," Adams said.
As more families have gotten involved and taken exchange students into their homes, Adams said the annual celebration has blossomed. It has been held at Wawasee every year.
"I got involved simply by hosting," Adams said. "They asked me to be a part of it, and it's blossomed from there."
The benefits of hosting an exchange student, Adams said, is that it shows everyone involved that people don't share the same lifestyles around the world. A host family not only teaches the student about the host country, but the student also teaches the host family about other cultures.
"It really, really is an awesome experience," said Adams.
ASA International is looking for families to host across all area school corporations. Adams said anyone can call her at 574-893-1744 for more information, or visit the regional Web site at www.asaicrossroads.com
Dan and Theresa Daggett, Winona Lake, are hosting student Sung Hun Choi from South Korea this year. He is their third exchange student. Previous students came from Thailand and Germany.
"We just enjoy what the kids learn and what we learn. We love to travel, and we enjoy what the kids bring," said Dan.
He said what they like about ASA is that the student is not a guest, but a "family member" during their stay. The students even have chores.
Theresa said when a student first arrives, their conversational skills aren't that good. They don't always know the slang, and Americans talk fast.
However, Dan said after the Thailand student was with them for about 11 months, the student would call home and would have to ask his mom to talk slower because he got used to English.
Sung said he is enjoying staying in America. He especially likes school, and doesn't like when it is canceled. The best part about his American visit, he said, was school and family. He also liked how people had more personal freedom here than in his country.
During the celebration meal, Vicky Von Der Fuhr, Netherlands; Juliana Barros, Brazil; and Kirsten Skjoldgaard, Denmark, talked about their perceptions about the U.S. and how different it was from their own countries.
"America is pretty much what you see in the movies," said Skjoldgaard.
Von Der Fuhr graduated from school in the Netherlands and didn't know where she wanted to go afterwards. She decided to take a year off and come to America as an exchange student. Skjoldgaard did likewise.
Barros said she came for the experience and to learn English. "All the good jobs," Barros said, "you have to learn English, so it's a fun way to learn."
One of the first differences in the U.S. she noticed, Von Der Fuhr said, was the size of the country and how spread out it is. In Europe, she said you can drive an hour and be in a different country. In the U.S., she said you can drive an hour and still be in the same state.
Skjoldgaard said that when Americans travel abroad, they expect people to know English.
Von Der Fuhr said American students don't know about other countries. She is from Amsterdam, and people think it's a country, not a city.
Skjoldgaard said schools in the U.S. make a big deal of school spirit. Von Der Fuhr said if you're not in sports in high school in the U.S., you are not cool.
"It's basically a popularity contest," said Von Der Fuhr.
She also said America is really patriotic. Skjoldgaard said there's flags everywhere - in classrooms, homes, businesses. "We have nothing like that," she said.
Barros said soccer is big in Brazil. "Soccer is everything," she said. Brazil won the World Cup five times. There is no American football. And dancing is fun and cool in Brazil - "Carnival" is the most popular holiday in Brazil, with lots of dancing.
"Partying here is a whole other world," said Skjoldgaard.
Von Der Fuhr said in her country, young people can go out and have fun and drink. In the U.S., people sneak around and buy their alcohol. A party is held at someone's house when parents aren't around.
"There's lots of groups in school. Cliques. We don't have that," said Von Der Fuhr.
When they return to their home countries, Skjoldgaard said she would describe America as "Crazy. I like America. It's so different."
"America is totally different" from one state to another, said Barros. "I can't believe it's one country."
"Indiana is very religious," said Von Der Fuhr.
In Europe, Skjoldgaard said, people say they are religious but don't do anything about it. They only go to church when they are "married and buried."
However, she did say the churches in Europe were very pretty. In the U.S., people have churches in houses.
Barros said after her stay in the U.S., she's learned to appreciate her own country more.
So was South Korea, Brazil, Denmark, Netherlands and a host of other countries.
It wasn't yet another world beauty pageant, but a gathering of exchange students at Wawasee High School, Syracuse, from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
Saturday night, WHS hosted the 10th annual Exchange Student Celebration. According to Tiffany Adams, regional director for American Scholastic Associates International, the exchange students cook for their host families to taste cuisine from the students' home countries.[[In-content Ad]]The students share their country's culture at the celebration with families to bridge the gap between countries and cultures. Later, after the parents leave, the exchange students and their host siblings hang out together, have fun and bond further. Adams said about 50 exchange students participated in Saturday's event.
"This is our one large event that brings people together," Adams said.
As more families have gotten involved and taken exchange students into their homes, Adams said the annual celebration has blossomed. It has been held at Wawasee every year.
"I got involved simply by hosting," Adams said. "They asked me to be a part of it, and it's blossomed from there."
The benefits of hosting an exchange student, Adams said, is that it shows everyone involved that people don't share the same lifestyles around the world. A host family not only teaches the student about the host country, but the student also teaches the host family about other cultures.
"It really, really is an awesome experience," said Adams.
ASA International is looking for families to host across all area school corporations. Adams said anyone can call her at 574-893-1744 for more information, or visit the regional Web site at www.asaicrossroads.com
Dan and Theresa Daggett, Winona Lake, are hosting student Sung Hun Choi from South Korea this year. He is their third exchange student. Previous students came from Thailand and Germany.
"We just enjoy what the kids learn and what we learn. We love to travel, and we enjoy what the kids bring," said Dan.
He said what they like about ASA is that the student is not a guest, but a "family member" during their stay. The students even have chores.
Theresa said when a student first arrives, their conversational skills aren't that good. They don't always know the slang, and Americans talk fast.
However, Dan said after the Thailand student was with them for about 11 months, the student would call home and would have to ask his mom to talk slower because he got used to English.
Sung said he is enjoying staying in America. He especially likes school, and doesn't like when it is canceled. The best part about his American visit, he said, was school and family. He also liked how people had more personal freedom here than in his country.
During the celebration meal, Vicky Von Der Fuhr, Netherlands; Juliana Barros, Brazil; and Kirsten Skjoldgaard, Denmark, talked about their perceptions about the U.S. and how different it was from their own countries.
"America is pretty much what you see in the movies," said Skjoldgaard.
Von Der Fuhr graduated from school in the Netherlands and didn't know where she wanted to go afterwards. She decided to take a year off and come to America as an exchange student. Skjoldgaard did likewise.
Barros said she came for the experience and to learn English. "All the good jobs," Barros said, "you have to learn English, so it's a fun way to learn."
One of the first differences in the U.S. she noticed, Von Der Fuhr said, was the size of the country and how spread out it is. In Europe, she said you can drive an hour and be in a different country. In the U.S., she said you can drive an hour and still be in the same state.
Skjoldgaard said that when Americans travel abroad, they expect people to know English.
Von Der Fuhr said American students don't know about other countries. She is from Amsterdam, and people think it's a country, not a city.
Skjoldgaard said schools in the U.S. make a big deal of school spirit. Von Der Fuhr said if you're not in sports in high school in the U.S., you are not cool.
"It's basically a popularity contest," said Von Der Fuhr.
She also said America is really patriotic. Skjoldgaard said there's flags everywhere - in classrooms, homes, businesses. "We have nothing like that," she said.
Barros said soccer is big in Brazil. "Soccer is everything," she said. Brazil won the World Cup five times. There is no American football. And dancing is fun and cool in Brazil - "Carnival" is the most popular holiday in Brazil, with lots of dancing.
"Partying here is a whole other world," said Skjoldgaard.
Von Der Fuhr said in her country, young people can go out and have fun and drink. In the U.S., people sneak around and buy their alcohol. A party is held at someone's house when parents aren't around.
"There's lots of groups in school. Cliques. We don't have that," said Von Der Fuhr.
When they return to their home countries, Skjoldgaard said she would describe America as "Crazy. I like America. It's so different."
"America is totally different" from one state to another, said Barros. "I can't believe it's one country."
"Indiana is very religious," said Von Der Fuhr.
In Europe, Skjoldgaard said, people say they are religious but don't do anything about it. They only go to church when they are "married and buried."
However, she did say the churches in Europe were very pretty. In the U.S., people have churches in houses.
Barros said after her stay in the U.S., she's learned to appreciate her own country more.
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