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Letters From Students |
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Dear Coordinator, How are you ? I am very good. I am writing you this letter to let
you know that I am having a great time here in California. I am really
enjoying it in Fremont with my new family the McKee’s. They are awesome.
We get along very good and do have a lot of fun together.
I could not have gotten a better family! I have always dreamed of going to America one day, and now I am here in on of the most beautiful state of all; California! California is beautiful, the landscape is so pretty and the weather
is always good. And I like my new school the “Washington High School”. I
think I get along pretty good, I am always trying to do my best, and I
am part of the volleyball team, with Melissa. I like it and I got to
know many people and make friends. For the winter season I want to try
our for the “girls soccer” team. I really like soccer, it’s my favorite
sport. And I am very thankful that I got the chance to live in such a
beautiful state with such a nice family. I am looking forward to the
following months as a real ‘American Girl’. Dear Orton, I’m good! So how are you ? School is in some 
ways very difficult, but I try my best to get good grades. I make a lot
of friends and I’m not homesick. My host parents are nearly perfect, I
just have to look how it goes with the household chores, but I think it
works good. I will see you at the Redwood Trip,Sincerely, Florian Hi Teresa, Well it is hard to believe that I have been two months in USA, It seems like I came yesterday. As any other student, at first it was so exciting to be here, because I experienced new things everyday, but as time passed I started to get really homesick and that prevented me from 
enjoying my time here. So I had to make questions to my self. What is
making me so homesick and how can I work with it? I found out that the
main reason was that I was talking to friends back home a lot and my
mind was still in Albania. As soon as I realized that, I decided that I
shouldn't be talking with friends at all for a while. Well, guess what?
It really worked. I made lots of American friends, I started to go to
football matches, soccer matches, volleyball matches and different
activities we do here. I am not feeling homesick anymore, I am really
happy that I am here and wish that (Ajald - continued next column) |
Dear Coordinator, I am happy to let you know that with every going by month, my temporary residence in the United States of America is becoming more pleasant. Now I have a lot of friends at school and my lunches are so lonesome any more. I’ve bee to my first football game, which I enjoy a lot and I also went to the Homecoming Dance, which was also fun. Fortunately, I have improved my grades in some of my classes but I still have to work on them. I change my Trig class into an Algebra class, and now I find myself more relaxed as I am quite better in the new class. This month I also went to a fundraiser for after school programs at my host parent’s church. The exhibitions were really funny and I also volunteered to help as a waitress to serve the people. Another fun thing I did was going on the boat with my host parents Rotary Club. My host sister Adriana and her son Mathew also came with us and we really enjoyed looking at the “Sky Angels” (sic Blue Angels) which made a great performance. And finally , to close this month with another fun activity, this Friday on the 27th, I am going to a Halloween Party at the Bowling Alley. My Mom’s co-workers are all going to be there and I will also be part of a jury for choosing the best costume. I forgot to let you know that now; going to Church
Iva Cami (Ajald - continued from column 1) May would never comes, cause I don't want to leave. People here are so friendly, once you decide to talk with them and be friends with them. I created a soccer team with 6 members and we are going to play indoor soccer by mid-October. I hope our team wins the tournament. Homecoming was a great experience also. I got to see how teens party in USA, and I have to admit that it is very different from where I come from, but I enjoyed myself so much that night. Halloween is coming and I have got a lot of plans for that also. I am going to be in a skit with the youth church for Halloween - I will visit a haunted house one of this days and I will dress up like Frankenstein for Halloween. It is the first time for me to do such things as Halloween so it is very exciting. This winter I am planning on learning how to ski and snowboard. It will be a challenge, since it never snows where I am from, but hey this is the reason why I am here, learn NEW THINGS. So this is pretty much my experience so far, sorry I did not write before but I have been busy with school lately. I will write you again. Sincerely, Ajald Celmeta |
Hi, My name is Gereltuya Enkh-Erdene. My American friends and teachers called me Phoebe. I'm an exchange student from Mongolia, and I live with my host family in Bristol, Tennessee.  Last year my cousin was an exchange student in America. When she came back to Mongolia and told us about her experiences, I decided that I wanted to come to America, and see for myself the American lifestyle, and learn about the religion, traditions, history, and environment of this wonderful country that my cousin talked about. Also, I had learned English from a Mongolian teacher with Mongolian accent, and I wanted to learn more about how to speak English. What better way than to learn it from American teenagers!! I made this my goal, but I had to convince my parents, so I set my heart to do just that. After being in America for 2 months, I know I didn't make a mistake. I'm enjoying my life here. My host family does not have children living at home. So that I would not be lonely for teenage fellowship, my family also hosts a girl from Korea who is also an exchange student. We have so much fun together! Now I not only learn the American lifestyle, but I am also learning the Korean lifestyle from my host sister. We are very close friends! I am already thinking about how sad I will be to separate from her when our school is over and we go home. I know this will be the only unpleasant experience I will have in America I have experienced some culture shock, and the biggest shock was the school, and teenage lifestyle. Things are very different. In my country the students stay in the same class all day and the teachers change rooms..... In America, the teachers stay in the same class room and the students change rooms. I get a lot of exercise in my big American school! In America, many students drive cars. They can get driver's license when they are 16, and most 11th and 12th grade students have a car and drive. I was shocked! My teachers are really nice. When I first came here, my English wasn't good, and they helped me to understand. I have many American friends, and they are like my best friends in Mongolia. I will never forget them. My host mother is an International Student Coordinator, and has students from other countries in other host homes. I like to talk to teenagers from many countries. This makes my experience richer. My family and I go to Tennessee Avenue Baptist Church. I am learning about their religion and I enjoy the church teenagers.I love my host family and my school. I'm learning that people can have different cultures and lifestyles, but there is one world, and we all live in it. We all have that in common with each other. I want to thank NWS for giving me this opportunity to be an exchange student. I will never forget this year in America. I made many American friends. They seem like my Mongolian best friends and I thought the all children are same no differences and we live in one world. I'm glad that I'm in here, to go to American high school and to live with American people. Best Regards, Gereltuya Enkh-Erdene |
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every Sunday has become a very important part of my life. I have
realized that you don’t actually have to believe in God in order to go
to Church. I like going there because I get to know really nice and
altruistic people which would do anything to help each other. I respect
their belief and they respect my lack of it and accept me this way in
their warm community.