Maija Laine from Findland, Guido Pinter from Hungary, AFS advisor Andrea Reynolds, AFS officer Tori Olson and Fernanda Sanhuenza from Chile are pictured with the new RRHS Pirate Statue.
This year’s AFS students come from three different countries, but they agree on one thing: the four minutes between classes at Rocky River High School are not nearly enough.
“In Finland,” says Anna Maija Laine from Pori (who goes by Maija), “we have ten to twenty-five minutes.”
“We have ten or fifteen,” says Maria Fernanda Sanhueza Herrera from Santiago, Chile (she goes by Fernanda). “And everyone here is so punctual and organized.”
Guido Pinter, who hails from Budapest, Hungary, agrees that the breaks between classes are very short. “Also,” he says, “in Hungary, we dress more elegantly for school. Never in sweat suits.” The others agreed that they, too, were accustomed to dressing up more for school.
The students are not accustomed to their classmates driving to school, either. Students in their home countries generally walk to school, take public transportation, or get a ride with their parents. In Chile, drivers must be eighteen, while in Finland, students as young as 15 can drive mini cars known as mopeds, which only seat two and don’t go as fast as regular cars.
The students are also all enjoying their stay in Rocky River so far, with Fernanda saying that she’s most impressed by how quickly her family accepted her into their home. She hopes to one day be an obstetrician, so she is especially enjoying her science classes.
Maija, who speaks three languages, wants to do more traveling and live abroad. Guido, a soccer player, is as yet undecided about his future.
For this year, though, our community is pleased that they are calling Rocky River home.