Exchange students come to Washington

The Washington High School has welcomed three exchange students into its student body this year. The three students are from three different countries, Ukraine (in eastern Europe), Russia and Kazakhstan (in central Asia, south of Russia). They arrived in August and will stay until the end of the school year.

Alyona Neygebauer is a senior from Russia and has studied English for the past 10 years. She said that one difference between her school in Russia and the one in Washington is that she is allowed to choose her own classes here. She said she takes classes in Russia with the same group of people from first through 11

^th

grade, which is the last year of high school in Russia.

?The biggest difference between this school and the one in Russia is clothing,? Neygebauer said. ?In Russia, we have to wear skirts, heels and white shirts. It?s much more conservative. We don?t have a uniform, but we are asked to wear business clothing.?

In addition to speaking English, all three exchange students speak Russian fluently. Neygebauer lives with Ericka and Ed Raber. She said Ericka knows Russian and has visited Russia but that the two of them speak to one another in English.

?She helps me with words for food since she knows the names of Russian dishes,? Neygebauer said.

Oleg Shlykov is a sophomore from Ukraine and lives with Roger and Lori Adams and their children Ransom, who is a fellow high schooler, and Lena, who attends the junior high. Shlykov said having host siblings made it easier for him to become friends with his classmates. He said he grew up speaking both Ukrainian and Russian but speaks principally Russian at his school.

Zhadyra Altynbayeva is a senior from Kazakhstan and lives with Rick and Lynn Loula. She grew up speaking both Kazakh and Russian. In Kazakhstan, she has a brother and sister, who are always fighting and causing a ruckus at home. She said it was nice to move in with the Loulas to a much quieter home.

?People are very kind here and they care more about other people,? Altynbayeva said. ?All of them are kind to me when they talk to me.?

Altynbayeva wore a uniform to school in Kazakhstan, and just as Neygebauer, commented on the comparatively lax dress code that prevails in American schools. Altynbayeva and Shlykov said they have also noticed that their classmates here are also less formal in how they address their teachers. Altynbayeva said she was also surprised at the low number of people who walk on sidewalks compared to Kazakhstan.

Shlykov also noticed that fewer people walk in the United States than Ukraine, and said that it is partly due to laws about driving. In Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, a person must be 18 years old before he can drive, and Shlykov said that even then the person might have to wait a few more years before he can acquire a car.

Another fact about American culture that surprised Altynbayeva was that deer are killed and eaten. She said that in Kazakhstan, deer are kept as pets.

All three students also performed in the recent high school play, ?It Happens Every Summer.? Neygebauer said she was chosen to play a French hair-dresser, partly because she can actually speak French, a language she has studied for five years. Altynbayeva said she loves drama and was glad to get a chance to act. Shlykov played the role of an Italian barber who spoke entirely in Italian.

Altynbayeva is involved in choir and said she was already familiar with many of the songs in choir before she came to the U.S. Shlykov is in show choir and plays percussion in the band. They said they recognized the pop songs they sang in choir at the beginning of the year such as Katy Perry?s ?Firework? and ?Come Together? by The Beatles.

Altynbayeva said that she was unfamiliar with American football before coming to The States.

?I like football games, now that I know the rules,? she said. ?I went to one Hawkeyes? game and it was great. It was very energetic and everyone was yelling. I?ve never seen so many people wearing yellow.?