Rocky River High School welcomes this year's AFS student, Sol Porras Chacón. Sol is from Heredia, Costa Rica. Here in Rocky River, her host family is the Porters: William, Carol Sue, and daughter Vanessa, who is also a student at RRHS. Sol is a senior, and she is here to open herself up to new experiences, she says. "I want to learn about different cultures," she says, "meet new people, and improve my English."
Sol wants to improve her English because she hopes to create her own company one day, with a degree in Business Administration. She's not entirely settled on the type of company she'd like to start (possibly something involving food), but "English is a language you need to learn to get a good job anywhere," she explains.
Sol is on the Cross Country team, and she's impressed with the passion young people in Rocky River have for their sports, she says. "They really take sports and their practices seriously," she explains. Sports are just one aspect of Rocky River High School that Sol enjoys. "I like everything," she says. "There are really good teachers here, really good people. The day feels short when I'm here."
Sol also has found that she enjoys attending church with her host family. "I like church here," she explains, "and that surprised me. I'm the kind of girl who doesn't like church, but my [host] family made me go and now I love it. Everyone is so happy and sweet. It's like a family."
Sol's own family in Costa Rica consists of herself, her mom, dad, and older brother, who is twenty. He was an AFS student in California when he was his sister's age, Sol says, "so I know how it feels to miss me." Her dad, especially, misses his daughter; "I'm his princess," she says with a smile.
While in the US, Sol hopes to go to Las Vegas and Niagara Falls. For now, we in Rocky River are happy she's here.