By Roman Kostal, Special Writer
My name is Roman Kostal and I am from Slovakia, but recently attended Hopewell Valley Central High School as an international student. I came to the United States in August of last year and will be leaving July 2.
The high school took five international students this year.
This experience was extremely beneficial to all five of us and, I believe, to the kids at the high school, as well.
I would like to thank all the people in Hopewell Valley for having us here.
Many people may not know that out of the 1, 200 students who traditionally study at Hopewell Valley Central High School, there were five students, who were visitors to the district. In fact, they are not even from this country. They came from places like Germany, China and Slovakia. I, Roman Kostal, am one of them. I arrived to the United States in August 2010 and it was my first time being here.
”So this is my new home for the year,” I thought and looked forward to meeting the people who generously offered me their house in which to stay. Yes — they signed up for it and voluntarily took a foreign student to live with them. But simply providing me with housing was not what their mission was.
The Daniels family gave me all the love and support I needed over the course of time. They showed me interesting places all over America and I became a full member of their clan. Now I feel like I have one more pair of parents and two more brothers. The words, “thank you,” fail to describe my appreciation for the magnanimous deeds the Daniels and the four other host families have done for us. God bless you.
It is also the community of Hopewell Valley that sacrificed itself for our presence. I know the budget of this school district is carefully examined and voted on by the public. And the five international students have been, for sure, an additional expense. Cheers to every single taxpayer of this district. You allowed us to explore the American culture, learn the language and get a taste of the American dream.
Hopefully we succeeded in enriching the community with a piece of our own culture, as well as helping to add to the quality of education of young students at the high school by raising awareness of the increasing internationalization of today’s world.
Here is a little bit about who we are:
Maike Seifert comes from Dortmund, Germany. This city hosts the German soccer league champions’ team from the recent season. She was on the high school soccer team, track team, and the photography club. Although English is not her native language, she takes a bunch of honors classes and has an admirable GPA. She made a lot of friends and went to wonderful trips all over the United States. “Thank you guys, I love it here,” she said.
Tong Wu is from Fuzhou, China. This place may sound unfamiliar to a lot of people, but it is actually the capital of the Fuijan province and has over 7 million inhabitants (bigger than Philadelphia). Tong mostly enjoyed learning of English and attending a teen church club with her new friends every Wednesday. She saw snow for the first time in her life. When I asked her to summarize her experience in America in one sentence, a single word was enough. “Awesome” she said.
Natalia Lescisinova arrived from Kosice, which is the second largest city in Slovakia and will become the European capital of culture in 2013. Natalia participated in track and field and relaxed spending time with her host family. She also went to the prom (yes, as a junior, but with a special permission from high school Principal Mike Daher) where she experienced this unique American tradition. “Most amazing experience of my life that helped me to grow up . . . I became responsible and independent.”
Monty Schutze comes from Jever, Germany. This town basically lies on the northern sea and is famous for the beer brand that carries the town’s name. Monty came here to master his English — already stunning when he arrived. He immediately joined the marching band and throughout the year participated in almost every music project at the high school. He made friends for life and went to the prom together with Natalia. Monty also traveled a lot and visited interesting places all over the country. “I would like to thank all the friends, my host family, and people in Hopewell who supported me,” he said.
So these are the students whose lives were enriched, thanks to all the welcoming people in Hopewell Valley.
