Welcome To America

by BECKY HAMMILL

America hosts more international students than any other country. There are a record of 900,000 international students in America. Our new additions to the Mac-Hi students are Marie Ecoffey, Candelaria Maguregui, Meggi Hatzel, Vilde Roemo, and Isabel Blechsmidt.

I interviewed all of the lovely new students during school. Here is what I learned.

Marie Ecoffey is from Switzerland. When I met her, she gave me a big smile, and I was very excited. She is one of the nicest people I’ve met. One of her most favorite things about America is the food.  She didn’t get to choose to come here, though. The biggest difference between America and Switzerland is the school system. In Switzerland, Marie has already graduated. Also, they start learning English around age 14, in addition to their native language. She became a foreign exchange student because she wanted to learn to speak English, in addition to French, German and Italian. The hardest part about being away from home, she said, is being away from her family and friends.

Candelaria Maguregui is from Argentina. She is very sweet, and I am glad that I got to meet her. She came to America to learn the language and culture, which she's been able to experience with her host family, the Harmons (Mindy Harmon, her host-sister, is a senior this year). Candelaria told me that she enjoys English despite its difficulties. Many of the people I have spoken to from different countries like English, too. She said that they learn English basically whenever. The classes in Argentina are way different from in America. She has 2 older brothers that she misses.

Meggi Hatzel is from Germany. She’s in my 1st period and 2nd period classes, so I get to see her often. She’s very shy, which I can understand. Meggi had a choice as to which country she got to go to. She wanted to speak English better, so she has to choose between the United Kingdom or the United States. She chose the US because it’s further away. Germany and America are different in certain ways. Here in America, people are more friendly, she said. It’s also somewhat more expensive. She speaks 3 languages: German, Greek, and English. I was surprised to hear that she can speak Greek, especially that she learned it so young. She has no siblings in Germany, so the hardest part for her to be away from her home is being away from her friends.

Next up, is the lovely Vilde Roemo. Vilde is from a small town in Norway called Namdalseid. “I like how all the different cultures are equal, and I like the people. Everyone is so open-minded,” she said. She chose America because she wanted to experience the American way of living. I asked her about how this country differs from Norway, and she told me it's more diverse culturally. She started learning English in second or third grade. “Being away from everyone I love, including my dog,” Vilde said, is the hardest part about being away from home, especially her five older siblings. I couldn’t agree more. Including her native tongue, she admitted to speaking some "pretty bad" Spanish.

Our own Mac-Hi student, Anna Lonai, left to Taiwan to be a foreign exchange student. I messaged her on Facebook and got to catch up with her. I asked her why she picked Taiwan, and she admitted that she wasn’t really sure. She thought it would be pretty cool to learn Mandarin, being so different from English, and she wanted to go somewhere very different from America. Anna loves Taiwan; she says it’s very beautiful and exciting. The people are friendly and there is lots to do. Of course, it’s hard for her to be away from her family. The language is a real challenge for her, as it would be for anybody. Anna’s classmates are awesome, she says, but it’s hard for her to make real friends when she can’t communicate. “My host family is so sweet. I’m the only kid though, which is a little sad.” she says.  

If you haven’t met any of these lovely ladies, you should set out to do so. I enjoyed talking to every single one of them, even if some of the interviews were via Facebook. They are all very sweet. I hope to get to know them more, and you should, too.