Today's date: September 7, 2010
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| Eva Li - Exchange Student |
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October 22, 2009 |
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Eva Li | by Norma Dittman |
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Eva Li is an exchange student from Hainan Province in China who is studying at Fulda High School this year. Hainan is located in the South China Sea. In China, Eva lives with her father, Xichuang Li, her mother, Jianmei Zhou, a younger sister, Wanwan Li, age 16, and a younger brother, Zishuai Li, age 15. Eva is 18 years of age. She arrived in the United States on August 28th. Her flight began at Haiman. She flew to Hong Kong, and then to Chicago, Il. Originally, she was to take a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis and then to Sioux Falls, SD, but in Chicago, her flight to Minneapolis was cancelled. Eva stayed overnight in the Chicago airport and then connections were made for her to fly directly from Chicago to Sioux Falls, SD. She was disappointed in Chicago, because when she awoke from a nap, some of her personal items had been stolen. “I slept with my arms wrapped around my bag and my computer, or they may have been gone, too,” Eva said. When Eva first arrived in the Fulda area, she lived with the Mark Hakeneis family. Recently, she moved to the Spencer Enninga home. When asked why she chose to come to the United States to study, she replied, “People are always interested in other countries. I thought America would be a good place to learn. My parents thought that it is a good idea to come here because I can learn the English language better, and I can learn about America.” At Fulda High School, Eva is studying English, biology, art, algebra, senior social studies, and American History. “The school day here is so much different than in my country. In my country, our school day begins at 6 a.m. until 12. We then go home for lunch and a little nap. We are back in school from 3 - 5:30 p.m., and then we go home and shower and have supper. Then we go to school from 7 - 10 p.m.,” Eva explained. Students in Eva’s school do not have lockers. They are with the same classmates each day and they stay in the same room. The teachers move from room to room to teach their subjects. Students attend school six days per week. Eva also stated that in her school in China, grades 7-9 are considered to be juniors and grades 10-12 are seniors. “In China, the teachers are very serious when they teach us. Learning is very important,” Eva said. “Because we spend a lot of time in school, swimming and shopping are my “hobbies”. It is my duty to buy things - like my dad’s clothing - that are needed in the house. My mom works with my father in their real estate company. Oh, I do love reading! If I have time, that is what I do. Here at Fulda, I love to joke with my new family. They are a lot of fun and I have Heidi and Bridget to be with.” Because Eva comes from a very large city, it was quite a change for her to come to a rural farming area. But, she has found that she enjoyes all of the animals on the farm. She helps to feed the goats, and she has been picking up and dehydrating lots of apples for winter storage. “The problem with that is, I will fill the dehydrator in the morning, and then when I come home from school, I look and many of the apples are gone. It is dad Spencer who is eating them,” Eva said, chuckling. Because she comes from a tropical climate, Eva finds snow to be very exciting. “She was absolutely delighted when she saw the snowfall that we have had,” host mom, Leann Enninga, stated. “The rest of us were thinking, with beans in the field, this is not good. But, Eva was very happy to see the snow!” “In China, it is very hot because it is tropical where I live. We always carry umbrellas to protect us from the sun,” Eva stated. “I don’t want to get sunburned. When it is very hot, we stay home until 7 p.m. and then it is cooler and we can be outside.” When asked what they do about the hot weather during school days, Eva said that they use books or papers to fan their faces to help keep their bodies cool. “Now that I am an adult, I can go to work. We are not allowed to work until we turn age 18. Here the teenagers can go to work, but it is very important for us to concentrate on our studies,” Eva said. Eva talked about the city she lives in and explained that teenagers can learn to drive at age 18, but public transportation is most often used. “We live in apartments, not houses. If a family is very rich, then they can have a house like this one that my American family lives in.” Eva has experienced many cultural differences, but said, “I am like a baby here. I need people to be patient with me, and I need them to be concerned that I learn what I need to learn. Eileen Heintz has been very helpful to me and so has my host family. They help me understand what I need to learn. I am liking the school day and living here. The farm is new for me, but I like all little things - like animals and especially babies. I love babies so much. I am here until June 10th. I will learn as much as I can.” |
©Fulda Free Press 2010