Life is a journey and the world is constantly rotating. Living in a country can reflect a person’s personality as well as their culture, religion, beliefs, traditions and behaviors. Coming from a different side of the earth, GHS’s exchange students have gathered together to experience new things- to have a journey which is also an adventure.

There are differences which make us adjust to our new environment; though it is challenging, we, the foreign exchange students, consider ourselves lucky individuals.  It is a great achievement we have, and we look to the  Program of  Academic Exchange (PAX), the organization which brought us to America.

Jumaira Husin is the exhange student from the Philippines.  She is a moslem. Jumaira can speak moslem languages, a Filipino language and English.  She is currently living with two siblings and a mother and father in Goffstown. She is currently a senior. Jumaira loves her Accounting class with Mrs. Roy.  She also loves singing and is in Chorus.  She sings during concerts with the choir. Jumaira is a member of the Volunteens Club where she does volunteer work. She wants to play volleyball. Being an exchange student isn’t really easy for her, but it is the best thing that has happened to her life. At first, everything seemed so difficult, but with time, she is slowly doing all the things she thought she could not do.  Jumaira is enjoying every moment of her exchange year;  she wants to cherish every second of her stay.

Alexander Rudolph is a 15-year old exchange student from Germany.  He is a sophomore, and he likes his U.S. History class and College Physics. He plays tennis and is also a member of the Robotics Club. He is living with his host mom. Before coming to America, he feared messing up in school because of the language. He finds some of his classes hard, but he is doing his best to manage things including the weather which is different from his home country. Despite that, he finds things funny and most of the time interesting; for him, it is a big adventure. To be an exchange student will benefit him when he returns home.  It will open opportunities for him when entering University and it is also improving his English speaking skills. During his stay, he is looking to learn more about American culture and get in touch with people.

Tanyaporn Permkitpaisarn is a Thai exchange student.  She came from Thailand and is going stay for the whole school year. Living with a big family, she is surrounded by many kids which she finds is fun. She has a twin sister who is also an exchange student currently in Indiana. Tanya is what her friends usually call her.  She loves art, and that’s why Painting and Drawing is her favorite class so far.   She is happy being an exchange student, but it is a big challenge for her not knowing what will happen.  Tanya has friends whom she can lean on, and they make her feel good even with just a simple smile. She is looking forward to doing things she hasn’t done before, having new experiences, gaining more American friends and improving her English.

Leo Sperling is a sophomore exchange student from Germany. Leo says Germany is not so much different from America. He plays football and enjoys skiing. He is fond of hanging out with friends in his free time. He is excited about the snow and having an American Christmas. Leo loves being an exchange student because he has a chance to see how the school system works in another country. He was happy to have this opportunity because it will help him become a better English speaker and also because he has the chance to become more independent and have friends from a different country.

Giacomo Taddei is the last, but not the least, exchange student in Goffstown High School. He is Italian and Italy is his home country. He is currently a senior and has a host brother who attends GHS and is also a senior. Giacomo likes his Great Decisions class and finds it interesting to learn different perspectives from different people and hear different opinions. He is glad to be in the exchange program. This opportunity is a great chance for him to have more friends outside his country, learn a new culture, and it helps him enhance his language. He looks forward to doing fun things and having unforgettable memories in America.