Page 6 - Dinuba Sentinel 2-28-19 E-edition

A6 | Thursday, February 28, 2019
Community
Students
second capital of the country. Back home, he lives with his parents, two brothers and one sister.
Here, he lives with Isidro and Norma Chavarin and family.
“Everyone wants to come to America,” he said of his decision to become an exchange student. Jay said that when his mom was 17, she passed the test for becoming an exchange student but her parents didn’t let her come to America.
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“She wanted me to come over here for her,” he added.
For Adama, this is her second time in the United States. She and her family visited the east coast recently on a family vacation, where she said she visited New York and Washington D.C. She said, however, this is her first time on the west coast.
She comes from Mali, which is in northwestern Africa. Adama has one younger sister and lives with her parents in Bamako, which is the capital of Mali. While here in Dinuba, Adama lives with Jesus and Silvia Munoz. For the Munoz family, this is the fourth time they have been a host family to a foreign exchange student.
Ketevani, who goes by “Keta”, is also from her country’s capital city. her parents and younger brother Tbilisi.
She lives with in the city of
comfort zone, that’s when you really grow. And all the independence and all the new responsibilities truly make you a better person.”
Her host family is in the home of Craig and Tamyra Tomlinson.
Jeren said her home country of Turkmenistan is right in the middle of Central Asia, off the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. She and her family are from Turkmenabat, which is the country’s second
largest city. Back home, her family consists of her parents and one older sister and one younger brother. Here, she lives in the home of Ramon and Ana Herevia.
She said she was motivated to become a foreign exchange student after her older sister, Enejan, took part in the program a couple of years ago. Enejan actually stayed with Pattillo, who is now the coordinator for the program.
“She had a wonderful experience, living in California,” said Jeren. “And that’s why I wanted to come to the United States, to try something new; meeting new people, trying new food, new friends, being out of
my country and finding myself.”
And Tetyana comes from Chernihiv, Ukraine,
where she says the weather is much colder than it is here. There she lives with her parents and her younger sister.
She said she chose to become an exchange student because she wanted to learn more about herself.
“I wanted to be independent and solve problems by myself,” said Tetyana. “And I also like to learn about other cultures and share about my country.”
All five of the exchange students speak fluent English, one of the requirements for entering
Keta said the weather in Georgia is very similar to what you might see around here.
“The good thing about Georgia is that you can actually see the difference between seasons,” she said. “As we are going into March, in about two weeks you will start noticing that Spring is coming. But right now it may be cold and rainy.”
She explained the biggest reason for wanting to become an exchange student is personal growth.
“When you go out of your country, and your
“The way they smiled... Here when you meet a stranger they generally smile and say ‘Hi’. In our country we don’t usually do that to strangers.”
— Jeren Tolegova
Sentinel rowback
Dinuba native Jerry Halford brought this photo in. The man on the far left is Halford's grandfather, William P. Boone, the first recording secretary for Alta Irrigation District. The photo was taken circa 1910-1920. Can anyone identify the other men?
Photo contributed