JAN
JARVIS - JJARVIS@SIERRASTAR.COM
Left to right: Lucy Alauz, Yeon-Woo Lee, Alina Budayeva, counsellor
Stephanie Samuels, Agnes Kistamas and Terry Kim. Not pictured: Luda
Kuleshova.
High
school is an emotional and exciting time, to say the least. For
six students at Yosemite High School this school year has been an
especially memorable one, however, since they are attending YHS
as exchange students through the AIFS (Academic Year in America)
Foundation.
Students Lucy Alauz (18 years old from Ecuador), Yeon-Woo Lee (15,
from South Korea), Alina Budayeva (16, from the Ukraine), Agnes
Kistamas (17, from Hungary) and Terry Kim (16, also from South Korea)
recently got together in the YHS career counselling center to discuss
their year in Oakhurst. The sixth student, Lyudmila (Luda) Kuleshova
from Russia, couldn’t be there in person for the interview, so she
answered by email.
They arrived in the U.S. last August. With the exception of Alina,
whose trip was sponsored by the U.S. government, their families
paid for their travel expenses.
Their initial impressions of this country varied. Lucy said that,
riding in a car to Fresno, “everything looked so flat.” Yeon-Woo
added that in her hometown in Korea, “you can’t even see the sky”
because of all the buildings. The wide open spaces of the Sierra
foothills were quite a surprise to her. Agnes said that when she
got here, she wondered, “Are you sure this is California? But you
don’t have time to be disappointed.”
Luda’s first sight of America was the airport in New York. “My first
thought...was: ‘Wow, just like I’ve seen it in the movies.’ Then
there were a lot of things I noticed. The warm climate and the warm
people…”
The girls remembered struggling with English in the beginning. “I
was confused about the grammar because everyone speaks English differently
here,” explained Alina. Agnes commented the slang gave her problems
since she spoke “English English.” Alina jumped in: “I’m crazy about
English.” All the students had studied English in their home countries
and Terry even spent 18 months in school in New Zealand prior to
coming to Oakhurst.
Their host families have taken them all over California. Some have
been to Disneyland, some to San Francisco and most have seen Santa
Cruz. Yeon-Lee was in Hawaii and Terry, besides living in New Zealand,
was in the U.S. before, when he was 4 years old, “but I don’t remember
anything about it.” Luda even loved her trips to Fresno and Yosemite.
“I’m lucky to live here, not far from it,” she observed.
When asked to comment on the differences between their native schools
and American ones, they all said the work was easier here but there
were other things that made it harder. For example, Terry said he
didn’t understand assignment deadlines. Luda said, “It is more strict
and more easy at the same time.” Lucy attended an all-girls’ school
in Ecuador and wore a uniform. When Lucy told the others about that,
Alina commented, “That’s boring. I can’t imagine school without
boys!”
All of them said they missed their families and keep in touch with
emails. They’re looking forward to going home but will miss their
American friends. Luda spoke fondly about her 17th birthday celebration
here (“The most wonderful birthday I had so far!”) and the family
dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas was definitely
the hardest time for them, except for Alina, who said Valentine’s
Day was the worst because she missed her boyfriend back home.
One of the biggest obstacles they’ve had to deal with, besides adapting
to the language, is the distances here and the lack of public transportation.
Alina said it was strange to be so far away from her friends, even
if they all live in Oakhurst. Luda called herself “the only walking
person” in Oakhurst and also said it was hard for her initially
since “some people have stereotypes about Russians. I had to convince
them that they were not right. I’m just the same a person as other
Americans are.”
All of them said they wanted to return to the U.S. some day. Terry
will be attending Dominican Christian High School in Georgia next
year, so, after a visit with his parents in Korea, he will be the
first to return.
Some have college plans and some don’t. Lucy wants to study psychology,
Alina wants to be an interpreter and Agnes is aiming for law school.
Terry wants to become a professor of computer technology and when
he hits the ripe old age of 30, change careers to be an English
professor in Korea.
When asked what they liked best about their year in America, what
they’ve learned and what they would remember most, this is what
they said:
Yeon-Woo: Trying new things, having experiences, learning. And I
don’t have to fight with my sisters.
Alina: It’s been a time to see if I can live without my parents
and not be a little girl anymore
Agnes: A new culture, new people. I can be a little girl again.
Lucy: I’ve learned to take care of myself.
They finished the interview talking about what they’d miss. Alina
said, “I’ll miss the candy and the Mexican food. And flip-flops
and jeans.” Luda added, “All the people, the school, my youth group,
this quiet place, going to McDonald’s every Tuesday with my friend
Lucy from Ecuador.” “Are you serious?” countered Agnes. “McDonald’s
forever!”
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