Foreign Faces
By Kaylyn Province
August 27, 2009
Ashland has nine foreign exchange students this year from many different countries. Swedish exchange student Alexander Homlstedt said " I chose to do the exchange year because everything was the same in Sweden. We always did the same stuff on the weekend, and I wanted to try something new." Alexander has a sister and a brother. He likes to play soccer and hang out with friends. His brother just came home from the army and his sister is studying to be a doctor. Alexander's father owns his own company and his mother works with the Stockholm's finances.
Jacky Cheung is 17 and comes from Hong Kong. He joined the EF exchange program in February of 2008. Jacky came to the United States because he adores the lifestyle here. Jacky thought that the U.S. had big cities everywhere but then discovered Ashland. Jacky thinks that Ashland is in the countryside of the United States and that there are cowgirls and cowboys here. Jacky would rather be in Ashland than in one of those big cities. "Ashland is my first rodeo!"
John Trentin, from Brazil, is 16 years old. John chose to do the exchange program because he wanted to get to know our country and culture. John joined the EF exchange program looking for a new experience and new friends. He likes to play tennis, soccer and volleyball, but since he is in the United States he is going to try football. John hopes to have a great semester in Ashland.
Salisa Cheewapansri, nicknamed Prim, is 15 years old and from Thailand. Prim has two older sisters and one older brother. Prim's mother is a doctor and her father is a businessman. The reason Prim joined the EF exchange program is because she wanted to have new experiences and meet new friends. Prim just wanted to go abroad and try something new for once in her life. She didn't expect to come to Kansas. At first Prim wanted to go to Boston, but now Prim is glad she is here and hopes to have the best experience here in Ashland.
Pascal Berneburg is 16 and from Germany. The reason Pascal wants to spend a year in the U.S. is to learn something about the culture, the "American way of life", because this has been Pascal's dream. He is very happy to be in Ashland. It is a new experience for him since he comes from a big city. Pascal hopes it will be a wonderful year.
Chung Ka Mak is 16 and from Hong Kong. Chung's nickname is Mak. He describes himself as quiet, flexible, and lazy. Mak has one older sister and enjoys playing the piano. During his experience here in Ashland Mak would like to learn English and to be with different people with different cultural backgrounds. Mak wants to have fun in Ashland.
Anders Heeger Jensen is 16 and from a small town in Denmark. Anders has 3 older siblings, and is the only child at home. He chose to come to Ashland because Denmark got boring. Anders came to make new friends, too. He plays football. Anders is staying with Dennis and Angel Watts.
Anja Holethan is 16 and from Germany. Anja likes to do horse-back riding, swimming, and listen to music. The past 5 years she has been in a boarding school. This means that she has been living at her school and that she's only home on weekends. She came here to learn a different language and get to know another culture. She has a brother who is 24 years old.He is living and studying in Finland.
Hsiao-Wen Tsai, nicknamed Elisa, is from Taiwan. She's a Junior this year. Elisa decided to experience different cultures. The thing she likes the most here is looking at the stars at night. The thing that is most different is that in Taiwan there are about 2 million people. She is playing volleyball and plans on playing basketball. Elisa is staying with Vicki Christopher. Her favorite food in America is spaghetti and she like all sorts of pasta.
