A path blazed over seas

The long process was finally over. All the tests and questions were done. Pulling up to the airport, Senior Rahel Sulzer felt nothing but excitement. She was leaving her home country, Switzerland, to live in America for a year. 

Feeling anxious, Sulzer went through the longest travel day. With a flight canceled, and then turning 18 in the sky, she was ready to meet her host family. 

“I had contact before. We Facetimed a lot, and we also wrote a lot together and sent pictures so I kinda know them a little bit already, and when I met them it was just normal,” Sulzer said. 

Arriving in America only two weeks before school started, Sulzer wasn’t sure what to expect. Her home and school life compared to this new country she was in was unusual.    

Back home, Sulzer used multiple modes of transportation to arrive at school. 

“So I have to go with the bike to the train station, to get on the train, then walk to my school, and the way is about 30 minutes,” Sulzer said. “Every day, we have another schedule, so I have 13 subjects, and everyday I have around four or five.”

With a cousin who did the exchange student program, Sulzer was inspired to do the same. At first, her parents were not amused of this idea, but later changed their minds. 

Originally wanting to be in Australia, Sulzer then decided on America to learn English. The process, however, was long and difficult.  

“You have to ask the rotary club there if you can go with them. We have to have good grades in school, and write lots of letters, how you are, what’s your hobbies, everything about you,” Sulzer said. 

Once the process was over, Sulzer was able to enjoy her last few days at home with her family before leaving.

“I don’t really know it was kind of strange. I thought I had to feel excited and anxious and all…it was just normal days…until like the airport and it was really exciting,” Sulzer said. 

Starting her first day was nerve racking. With no set schedule beforehand, she was able to pick and choose certain classes she wanted to take. With so many different options of classes, Sulzer was able to pick Dance 1, and continues to dance like she did back home. 

Even though Sulzer will only be in America for a year, she looks forward to what all she can see and learn in her experience. 

However, one of the biggest challenges for international students is the language barrier. Current ESOL student, Luan Ribeiro, had his struggles when he first moved here. 

“I feel good, better than last year because now my English is getting better,” Riberio said. “ I couldn’t really [speak] English, that was really hard.” 

Unlike Sulzer who is an exchange student, Riberio moved here from Brazil with his sister nine months ago. Since then, he too has noticed big changes in his school life now. 

“Everything is different here. In Brazil you don’t get a computer, they do the simple things. We have a board and there’s more time in school here,” Riberio said. “We get to school by eight… school is over at 12:30.” 

With these new and drastic changes for international students, ESOL teacher, Anjanette Curry, helps ease the students into Wando. Not only does she help students with language, but also the different environment that America has to offer. 

“A lot of my students are used to being in schools where they would stay in one room and the teachers would rotate. So helping them navigate the way we do things in America is different,” Curry said. 

 Being a teacher, she also assesses them on certain skills needed to be successful. 

“When they come in, we give them a level of proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and then we test them at the end of the year and we want them to go up in each area,” Curry said. 

No matter the level that the students start at, Curry hopes to see improvement in all areas of life as the school year progresses. 

“Even if they understood no English, by the end of the year, to have some source of social English where they can function,” Curry said. “ [I] just kind of make them feel welcomed by meeting other international students.” 

With the challenges of working with students who potentially speak multiple languages, Curry wants her students to feel comfortable for as long as they may be here.