Fall 2013 Cranston High School West Article III

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Three foreign students make a nest at West

Photo by Phoebe Perelman(left to right) Manuela Amadori, Sami Asadi

and Annabelle Hauck pose in the main foyer of Cranston West.

The

by: Phoebe Perelman and Abbie MeliloStaff Reporters

CRANSTON-This school year there is not one, but three foreign students joining the Cranston West community. Each has their own experience here, but it is extremely evident that becoming involved makes the process much easier, and the experience much more rewarding. Annabelle Hauck; Bad Reichenhall, Germany- Hauck entered the 11th grade at CHSW as a foreign exchange student from Bad Reichenhall, Germany. Hauck sought the experience of living amongst a new culture and learning a new language, so she con-tacted the AFS program in order to attend a school in America. She told me how different her school back in Germany is from West. She stated that it is much smaller, and they do not have school sports like we do; which is one of her favorite aspects of CHSW. “Because I am on the volleyball team, that made it a lot easier for me,” Hauck said. She has made an abundance of friends by participating in this activity, and it really helped her to adapt to her new environment. Ashlee Cabral, a teammate of Hauck’s, explained, “we don’t just see her at practice, we all go to team nights and football games together too.” Being part of a team has clearly paid off for Hauck, making great new friends and really making the most of her time at West. Manuela Amadori; Trento, Italy- Amadori, a new senior at West, comes to us from Trento Italy. She too, is a foreign exchange student, but through an agency called California International Host-ing. Amadori said she wanted “to try a new experience, and leave an American girl.” Although Amadori was not involved with any activities right away like Hauck was, she immediately made many good friends. Once settled at West, Amadori decided to sign up for cross country. Although she signed up a bit late, this did not stop her from thriving. Her coach, Sheila LaGasse responded by saying “Manuela contributed to the team quite a lot, she actually ran on varsity. She was always a tough athlete and a great teammate. I call her fierce.” LaGasse also remarked that Amadori even plans on running track in the spring. “It was a little bit hard, but they were just nice, asking me questions about Italy and if I wanted to hang out with them,” Said Amadori. Clearly, the students at Cranston West play a big role in welcoming our new students, and making them feel at home. When our principal Thomas Barbieri heard about this, he was quick to show his pride, “I’m very proud of our school, It’s nice to have people come over from other countries and see our stu-dents demonstrate helpfulness and respect.” Not only was he excit-ed about our new students, but about how well our current students have been reacting.

Sami Asadi; Damascus, Syria- Asadi is a new junior who attends Cranston West. He is not a foreign exchange student per say, but he did move here all the way from Damascus, Syria. Arabic is his first language, and he described school in Syria as being exceptionally different from school in the states. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most difficult), Asadi says that adjusting to our culture and school is about a 7. About a week after our interview I spoke to Asadi’s English teacher, Elizabeth Federman who declared, “his participation has increased over time as he got more comfortable in the classroom, especially because some students are extra helpful.” Even though all three students are adjusting at their own pace, it is unmistakable that getting involved, and help from West students is really what makes the over-all foreign exchange student experience worth-while.

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