Exchange student adjusts in life in area By Amanda Clegg, Herald-Standard09/11/2006 Email to a friend Post a Comment Printer-friendly MOUNT PLEASANT - Teenager Louise Juvent anticipated having first-day-of-school jitters like most high school students, but navigating the halls of Mount Pleasant Area Junior and Senior High School seemed all the more daunting for the foreign exchange student from Belgium because she was so far from home.

Juvent, 18, and eight other exchange students came to the United States as part of a youth exchange program with the Rotary District 7330, which covers Fayette, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland, Indiana, Somerset, Cambria and part of Allegheny counties with 45 Rotary clubs within the district. The youth exchange group recently attended a 12-hour orientation session at the Laurelville Mennonite Retreat Center in Mount Pleasant before the start of classes to curb fears and receive a proper introduction to the United States.

To make a good first impression, the Rotary played games like the Name Game, where players pass a ball and repeat the names of each player, with the students during the orientation.

Katy Doran, district chairwoman of the youth exchange program, said most of the students received an orientation before leaving home, but the Rotary likes to build on that foundation.

"Our orientation is to reinforce what you learn being a Rotary exchange student and prepare you for life in the United States," she said, adding that the rules consist of the four D's: No drugs, drinking, dating or driving.

"We don't want romances - one-on-one relationships," she said. "They're here to build friendships. Group dates are perfectly acceptable. It boils down to no romance, no sex. A serious romance that interferes can get you sent home."

As for the second D, Doran said teenage drinking in other countries is not a crime, so the Rotary must make the exchange students aware of consequences.

The students might also need to adjust to a new eating schedule. Food is different in taste and timing, Doran said. In many countries breakfast is "heavy" and the main meal is served at noon followed by a late dinner around 8 p.m., she explained.

The orientation offered more than an introduction to the American way of life, however. The students also met one another. The nine students came from Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Finland, Japan, Ecuador, Germany and Thailand.

Mel Baxter, a member of the Brownsville Rotary and coordinator for outbound students, said the orientation session allowed the students to "connect with each other" and offered them "someone to compare notes with," as well as a "world view."

Juvent, who plays basketball and is looking forward to participating in sports, already received enough educational credit in Belgium to attend university in her country, she said, but wanted to experience America.

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