Exchange student to mark holiday far from home

By DELANIA TRIGG, Register Staff Writer

German exchange student Armita Mehdipor won’t be going home for Christmas, but the 17-year-old Muenster High School student will probably not be lonely.

Friends, a caring host family and holiday activities should see to that.

Mehdipor is an international exchange student from Germany who has spent the past four months in the United States attending high school classes, playing basketball and making American friends.

Mehdipor participates in PAX (Program of Academic Exchange.)

PAX is a non-profit educational organization which promotes and arranges international student exchange.

On its Web site, the organization states its goals are “to foster the positive development of the world's young people and to support international peace, friendship and cross-cultural understanding.”

Mehdipor is an excellent student and apparently a good ambassador for student exchange programs.

She also said she gets along well with her host family Roland and Zoey Bell. Friends call them “Ro and Zo.”

Texas was not exactly what Mehdipor thought it would be.

“I thought Texas was very cowboy, very western and everyone would be wearing hats and boots. When I got here, I found out not all the people look like cowboys, but some of them do,” she said.

She said Ro and Zo provided spacious living quarters for her. “Almost all the second story is for me. Their daughters are all grown up now,” she said.

Mehdipor said the Bells make her feel welcome and she isn’t really homesick.

“I’m not lonely for home. Just for friends and family,” she said.

She is from Cologne, Germany — a large city that is nothing like the quiet, rural setting where she lives with the Bells.

Mehdipor plays basketball, but admits she’s not as talented as some of her teammates.

“I just like playing basketball and improving my skills. That take basketball very seriously here. At home I played maybe two times a week with friends,” she said.

Her interest in sports, along with good grades and superb English language abilities, helped her decide to join a student exchange program.

“Plus, I had a friend who was an exchange student,” she said.

German schools are a little different from their American counterparts.

Foreign language is introduced to fifth graders.

“From fifth grade on, public school students study English three times a week,” she noted.

Students in public high school focus on four core subjects including mathematics, German and English.

Mehdipor is also fluent in other languages including French. Meeting up with her for an interview is not an easy assignment.

Extra-curricular and community service activities and school assignments keep her busy until 8 p.m. sometimes.

She spends a great deal of her time in rigorous basketball practices that include at least 30 minutes of sprints.

She also participates in one-act play competitions, a church youth group and cross country.

There are some other differences between her life in Germany and her life in Cooke County.

In Texas, Mehdipor lives in a country setting where neighbors and cell phone service are limited.

She has a driver license but cannot drive while in the United States.

“I cannot drive by PAX regulations so I have to have someone drive me wherever I go,” she said.

In her home city, she is closer to neighbors and other people.There is also another difference between German teens and American teens.

“There is not as much texting,” Mehdipor said. “Everyone has a cell phone, but people don’t text like they do here. Here they are constantly texting,” she said.

Her hobbies include shopping, going to movies and hanging out with friends, she said.

Playing the piano is another of her pastimes.

She said she prefers Beethoven and loves to play Arabesque and Fur Elise.

“The pieces I can play without the (sheet music),” she said, laughing.

Her host family also planned a special getaway — a holiday trip to Branson, Mo. and she got a taste of historic Texas when she toured the Fort Worth Stockyards.

“It was good to see it,” she said. She and her counterpart, exchange student Peeraya "Green" Rakudomchock from Thailand (who attends GHS), recently spent time sharing insights about their native countries with elementary school students.

Rakudomchock told a group of Chalmer’s Elementary School students some of the history of Thailand and taught them to count to 10 in her native language.

Mehdipor said she read a book for a group of Muenster kindergarteners and answered the kids’ questions about Germany. Last Monday, she said she spoke to some sixth graders about German Christmas customs.

How is a German Christmas different from an American Christmas?

“For one thing, our Christmas is on the 24th,” she said, “and we have goose (instead of turkey or ham) which tastes like chicken but is not as dry.”

Mehdipor said she would recommend international student exchange programs to other students.

“I really like it here, and I’ve learned a lot about America,” she said.