Exchange student enjoys new school

Yuelai "Sarah" Shi is one of several foreign exchange students at Wahkiakum High School this year. Sarah is from Xi'an, a major metropolitan city in central China that has a population of more than eight million people.

"In China it's not a very big city," Sarah said. "It's medium sized."

Much like the education system in the US, there are six grades in primary school, three in middle school and three in high school in China. There are around 800 students in her high school class alone and at 15, she's a bit younger than her peers having skipped a grade in primary school. Unlike schools in the US where promotion to a particular junior high or high school depends on your address, in China, it's all about the grades.

At school in Xi'an, she spends each day in one classroom with all the same students, so amidst all the anonymity, she is still able to make friends.

"In this school," Sarah said of WHS, "you can meet everyone. It's a change, but it's good."

A law in China prohibits couples from having more than one child, so Sarah doesn't have a brother or sister but she has a lot of cousins. And she likes having mom and dad to herself.

"I have a very good time with just my parents even though they are older," she said. "They always understand, listen and support me."

"Coming to the US to be an exchange student was my own choice," she conACtinued. "My father wants me to go out and see the world and my mom agrees but she also wants me to stay close. I made my own decision. I wanted to experiment for a year. My mom knows me. If I really want to study harder, I can go to the best university in China. I just need to study more."

Sarah plans to go to college to study math, a subject that challenges and interests her. Eventually she hopes to find a position where she can continue to use her math skills.

The hardest thing about being so far away from her close-knit family is having to wait till the weekend to tell them everything that has happened.

"It's strange," Sarah said. "I want to tell things to my mom and dad. Normally I would tell them if something strange happens at school, but oh no! They're not here!"

She and another exchange student from South Korea are staying with Bill and Nancy Nelson and by all accounts, Sarah is having a great time with them.

"I really enjoy my time with my host family," she said. "We are all weird. Joking, happy, teasing. Comfortable and easy. Sometimes we laugh a lot. They give us an easy life and laugh with us."

Sarah's hobbies include golf and tennis. She plays flute in the pep band and plans to join the golf team this year.

If you see her on October 12, wish her a happy 16th birthday. She is a bubbly bright young woman, but she's a long way from home.