This year RCHS has received four foriegn exchange students, all in the junior class. They come from very different places with interesting and unique cultures. Who are these new students and what are they like? What do they think about America and how is it different from where they’re from? These new students were willing to share insight into their past and current life with the questions below.

How is RCHS different from your old school?

Malin – The lunch break here is very short, the changing between classes is different too. At my school in Germany we did not have a daily schedule but instead a weekly schedule we would go by so it wasn’t the same thing everyday, my school didn’t have a dress code either.

Faris – At my school in Bosnia we did not change rooms for each of our classes, we had a small class that would stay in one classroom most of the school day. This school is a lot larger in size as well as students, it also has a lot of clubs compared to my old school.

Salma – The scheduling and studying are different. The students here are also a lot less respectful to the teachers than in Morocco.

Kong – At my old school in Thailand we did not get to choose our classes, we also had to wear the same school uniform everyday but here people can wear what they want which I like.

What are some of your personal interests/sports/hobbies?

Malin – I like to be outdoors with friends and I like to play the violin. I am also on the cross country team for RCHS.

Faris – I like to play basketball. 

Salma – I enjoy dancing, reading, and eating.

Kong – I like writing and I like watching anime.

Is there anything about our school you would change?

Malin – I would add a coffee maker somewhere, I would also get rid of the dress code.

Faris – No.

Salma – I would change the lunch food.

Kong – I would lower the water pressure for the bathroom sinks because they spray everywhere.

What’s your favorite food you’ve tried here?

Malin – Homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Faris – Donuts.

Salma – I really liked Subway.

Kong – I had a chicken sub and it was very good.

Have you had a hard time adjusting here?

Malin – No.

Faris – The first three days were the hardest for me but after that I started adjusting.

Salma – I had a hard time adjusting to everything, especially social adjustment.

Kong – First adjusting here was really difficult because everything is so much more different here than in Thailand.

Have you found anything here really shocking?

Malin – The Walmart here is really big, they also sell guns there which is shocking.

Faris – The dress code was surprising for me.

Salma – I did not realize the American stereotypes were actually true.

Kong – They have much larger portions of food here, it is also weird that there is no public transport.

What do you think about the people in the area?

Malin – The people here are nice and very open minded.

Faris – I think the people are very friendly and it’s nice because they always want to help.

Salma – They’ve been pretty nice.

Kong – The people I’ve met here are really nice.

What do you hope to gain from your experience in America?

Malin – I want to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity to go to American school and live an American life.

Faris – I want to meet lots of new people and learn about American culture.

Salma – I want to experience the independence that comes with studying abroad, coming here was the most courageous thing I’ve ever done in my 17 years of life. I want to gain knowledge and see a different perspective towards the world

Kong – I want to experience what America has to offer and know what it’s like to be somewhere different.