A long way from home
Jordan foreign exchange student adjusts to new lifestyle ADAM RUSH head copy editor | @adamrush01
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R OLDWASSE art by JILL G
ith his mind racing and heart pounding, 15-yearold Basel Heyari arrives at the building that could change his life forever. When he walks in, he has a series of important choices to make. His first? Elevator or stairs. Knowing that he is too energetic to stand still for even a second, Heyari goes up the stairs to allow himself time to calm down. It doesn’t work. A few minutes later, he sits down for the biggest interview of his life. Soon after, he learns that out of 2,000 applicants, he was one of only 34 accepted as foreign exchange students to the United States through the Youth Exchange and Study Program. Heyari, now 16 and a junior, had lived in Jordan all his life until winning a competitive scholarship that would eventually lead him to Ladue High School. When he first left Jordan, Heyari’s understanding of American culture had only come from television and movies. So when he accepted the scholarship, he had only one word to describe what he believed American schools were like: “hell.” “Every high school movie showed me that there was going to be bullying and putting people in lockers,” Heyari said. “I was actually pretty nervous, but [everyone at Ladue] is really nice and really friendly.” Missouri is about two times the size of the entire nation of Jordan. Heyari is overjoyed to be somewhere so different from where he has lived all his life. “I got a chance to know new and different cultures,” Heyari said. “One of the mantras the exchange students had was that something new isn’t necessarily good or bad, just different. I [got to] take the initiative and take each and every single opportunity I had.” Similarly to Heyari, senior Anna Apolinarski, an exchange student from Germany, also had to take her time before she fully acclimated to life in America. When she and Heyari
met at the beginning of the school year, they quickly bonded. However, this did not cause them to remain isolated from the other students in the school. Despite coming from cultures that are wildly different from life in the United States, Apolinarski believes the unique experiences exchange students have do not create a barrier between them and other students. “I feel like [Basil] could get along with everyone, as he is really friendly and open-minded,” Apolinarski said. “I think it doesn’t really matter where you’re from. Each country gives you a different perspective because culture differs a lot, even if countries are direct neighbors.” While English teacher Kimberly Durbin has taught many foreign exchange students during her 18 years at Ladue, Heyari is the first to come from Jordan. She feels that his experiences allow him to draw intriguing parallels in his work and bring a distinct perspective to the classroom on a daily basis. “I always love when exchange students or ESL students are open and willing to share experiences,” Durbin said. “[I think] it makes Basel feel more comfortable in the classroom to share some of his experiences.” The day before his 13-hour flight to America, Heyari felt a strange sense of guilt for leaving Jordan. As his mother said goodbye and began to tear up, he was overwhelmed with sadness. Now, while Heyari does stay in close contact with his family, he is glad he made the choice to come stateside. “Jordan has always been in my heart, [and] I’ll always miss it,” Heyari said. “But it’s not like I feel homesick because I’m enjoying myself here.”
(Photos courtesy of Basel Heyari)
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11.27.2018
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