Rolla high welcomes international students as part of Rotary Exchange program

Have you ever traveled to another country, to a brand new school, spoken a complete different language, and tried an endless amount of new things and experiences? For most of us, the answer is probably no. But we do have some pretty cool students who, by chance, have taken this plunge for us.
Youstena Aziz is a Junior, from Cairo, Egypt. She’s never been to America before, and came to help people learn more about her culture. One of the most different things about Rolla compared to Aziz’s school back home is that they stay in the same room all day and the teachers move around, instead of the opposite like here.
“It’s calm here. There’s no noise, there’s no traffic. I also love tacos. We don’t have them in Egypt,” Aziz said.
Maryke Afrika is a Junior from Cape Town, South Africa. She’s also never been to America before, and came to America because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Afrika noted multiple changes from her school back home to Rolla, one being that we don’t have uniforms here.
“I like everything about Rolla! I can’t choose because everything is a new experience. What I really love is the drive-through bank. You don’t have to go inside and stand in long queues, you just drive through. But I actually love everything-it’s just something amazing, something different,” Afrika said.
Howard Lin is a Senior from Taipei, Taiwan. He has been to America twice before, Hawaii and New York, and came to Rolla this time to learn English better. The biggest difference Lin faced was that we don’t have breaks at RHS. However, Lin couldn’t decide on what he liked best about Rolla.
“I really don’t know,” Lin said.
Yuka Nagayama is a Senior from Fukushima, Japan. She’s been to America six times before-and this is her favorite. Nagayama came to America because she hopes to become a Japanese teacher in America in the future, and more recently, get into an American university. Something different Nagayama noticed between her school back home and here in Rolla is that the relationships between teachers and students are much more close. Nagayama’s favorite thing about Rolla so far was very simple.
“The nature,” Nagayama said.