Every year here at ADM we take in multiple students from other countries with open arms. I feel like it is our responsibility to let you in on the personal lives of these students. Over the next couple weeks, I will be filling out this responsibility. This week I will be telling you about Anna from Ukraine.

We all find it very interesting to learn about the foreign exchange students, and why they chose to come her. I asked Anna this question and she said “I love to travel, and I wanted to increase my leadership skills.” That led me into asking what her first impression of the United States was, and she said the United States was huge, and then everyone was really friendly.” That led me into asking her what were some of the big differences between Ukranian life and American life. Anna replied with, “You guys are not allowed to bring bags into class, also you guys are dressed a lot more for comfort, and in Ukraine we are dressed more for fashion.”

Those questions were common questions that people would ask, so I decided to ask a more personal question, which was asking if she was hesitant in leaving and coming to the United States for so long. She said that she was nervous, but everyone has struggles in their life, and everyone is afraid of something, so she wanted to face her fear head on, and chose to come to the United States.

During the interview, I learned that Anna is involved in cross country, which she loves, she is in a leadership club, and she wants to be in drama. I then asked her what some more differences were, and she said, “In Ukraine, we drink room temperature water, and you drink everything very cold, which was surprising to me. Also, sports are really big here, unlike in the Ukraine.”

Lastly, I asked if she was happy in her decision to become a foreign exchange student, and she said that she is very very happy with her decision. Anna is super excited to try new things and being in a different part of the world was amazing.

Clearly, so far Anna is enjoying her time in the United States, and is making ADM a better school with her bubbly personality, and will continue to do so for the rest of the year.