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NHS welcomes 21-22 exchange students
Abroad View
Caileane Thurston Reporter @_cailey7
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Seyun Kwon: South Korea Marta Buscemi: Italy
Kwon is one of the 11 foreign exchange students attending NHS for the 2021-2022 school year. She is staying with host parents James and Carrie Reid. Back home in South Korea she loved technology and public transportation. “I like it in [South Korea] because the wifi connection is really fast even when I climb mountains,” Kwon said. “Public transportation is comfortable to go on and go to different places.”
She is looking forward to making new friends and participating in various activities like sports and foreign languages. One of the activities she is very excited about is volleyball. A major difference between Korea and America is that at her school they did not move to different classrooms throughout the day, Kwon and her various classmates typically stayed with each other and instead of students moving classrooms the teachers moved.
“What I love about America is that I can choose classes that I am interested in or what I want to do,” Kwon said. “People are so open minded here to anyone, even if they are strangers.” Buscemi is originally from Italy and is staying with host parents James and Carrie Reid. Italy is home to various attractions such as Rome, Venice and the Amalfi coast. Marta adores all of the many types of Italian cuisine as well as all of the fascinating sites she has visited there. While she is heavily involved in her school and extracurriculars back home, she has yet been able to participate in any activities at NHS to date. Buscemi does plan to swim this winter.
In many ways, Italy differs from America, including the housing, food, places and people. Making friends and talking to new people is one of her favorite things to do. She has enjoyed her time here in America and is patiently waiting for new opportunities throughout the year.
“One thing that I’m looking forward to doing this year is probably to be able to reach some of the goals that I set for myself and to speak/learn the English language very well,” Buscemi said.
NHS Welcomes 21-22 Foreign Exchange students
Pablo Garcia Gentil: Spain Louisa Vetter: Germany
Gentil traveled all the way from Spain to America this summer. While growing up in Spain, Gentil loved spending time with his friends and family but especially the customs and food.
“I like having a different experience [while staying here in Kansas] and meeting new people,” Gentil said.
In the fall, Gentil is planning on participating in Cross Country but he is open to all possibilities and more activities throughout the year.
“It’s really different [here in America],” Gentil said. “School in Spain is only for studying. We do not have any dances or any clubs.
Everything is really different but the biggest difference is the school.” Spain makes a ton of sports but they don’t focus on it as much in school. They have a variety of outside clubs such as soccer which is the biggest sport in Spain.
“Well Spain is a really good country. I am really proud of it, Spain is my home so I like Spain better. What I like about Kansas is the southern hospitality, I like that people are so nice and cool here,” Gentil said. Vetter is from Germany, and is very interested in sports. She anticipates meeting a lot of new people and attending sporting events while staying in Newton. Vetter is going to play tennis in the fall and she might give basketball a shot in the winter. She says that her country is very different from America. For example, Newton does not have many transportation options compared to those in Germany.
Vetter lived in a village in Germany and would always take the train or bus wherever she needed to go. She did not have to change classes like students do at NHS, and therefore is having difficulty deciding on what interesting classes she should take throughout her semester abroad.
Although life in America is not completely what she expected, Vetter has found joy in little things such as with her host family.
“I thought that maybe there were some veggie meals in fast food places but no, I was kinda disappointed, but my favorite thing is my host family’s cat. It’s a giant big fluffy white cat,” Vetter said.