The first foreign exchange student spotlight is on Nian Zhan. She is one of two girls living with Rocky Fliegel and Ruth Quinn. Nian comes all the way to Thedford from Shanghai, China. She decieded to be an exchange student because the western culture and customs are quite different from her country and she wanted to experience the U.S. culture. Nian said, "There has been a lot of changes in my life indeed .I've never been to such small place with only about 200 people. China has a great population. Everywhere is full of people. In here I can't see anyone on the street sometimes. Most Chinese people live in the apartment, but everyone has a house in Thedford. The environment here is better than my hometown. There's a lot of grass and tree and I enjoy here."
If Nian was at home this year she would be in "Grade 11", but at Thedford High School she is a member of the senior class. "The schools in China and in U.S. have few things in common. My high school has about 2000 students. 40 students form a class and we stay in one classroom all day while the teachers go to different classrooms.We have 8 classes a day, the same in Thedford. Our maths,chemistry and physics are more difficult than here and we have plenty of homework to do."
The STS Foundation is excited for Nian and all the students and welcome her to Thedford!
