By: Allison Collins

 

Do you want to know more about the foreign exchange students here at PHS? Well, you found the place. The first two we have had the pleasure of interviewing are Heloisa and Akihiro, who are hosted by Mrs. Williams for their stay. 

Heloisa is a junior and from Sao Paulo, Brazil. For her, the biggest difference between schools in America versus Brazil is the fact that, here, we have the opportunity to change classrooms & choose what classes we can take. As she explained, “In Brazil, we have 16 subjects and it’s the same for everyone in the same year, so we don’t need to change classrooms”. Heloisa is a part of the jazz band & plays the keyboard. She also does UIL academics. She chose to be a foreign exchange student because,  “My country is my love, but I always wanted to meet the world to understand cultures and traditions.” Heloisa also spoke about how her geography teacher, in Brazil, is who motivated her to apply for the program.

Akihiro is also a junior, and from Kobe, Japan. He says the biggest difference between Pleasanton and Japan is, “this school is much freer, in japan we have uniforms and we are not allowed to go to the bathroom during class”. He’s interested in playing sports, already being in tennis. He decided to become an exchange student because “if I can speak English in Japan, it would be very advantageous to get a job”. 

If you see our new students around campus, be sure to give them a friendly welcome!