By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
For the four exchange students enrolled at Sitka High School, time in Alaska has provided a novel degree of academic freedom and outdoors opportunities, along with some challenges.
The students, two from Africa and two from Europe, are nearing the end of their time in Sitka, and reflected on their time spent thousands of miles from home.
Foreign exchange students at Sitka High gather in the school lobby Monday. Pictured are, from left, Imane Baghouri, 17, from Morocco; Sadija Mašić, 17, from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Daniel Asanji, 16, from Cameroon; and Una Gailite, 16, from Latvia. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Una Gailite, from Latvia, appreciated the academic independence she found in Sitka.
“The good thing is that you can choose your classes. Especially as exchange students we don’t have many requirements, so we can take a lot of electives, too,” the 16-year-old said. “And I would also say the tests are easier, because mostly you know what to do, the exact things you will need to prepare for the test. Back home, you can just guess what will be on the test… Here it’s just easier, you feel more prepared if you actually study. Yeah, it’s easier for mental health.”
In a similar vein, Sadija Mašić, 17, found a major difference in the style of instruction here from what she was accustomed to in her home country, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The biggest difference would be that, yes, I know a lot of stuff from high school back home, but here, it’s so much deeper,” Mašić told the Sentinel during her lunch break Monday. “We learn why. Everything we have learned, we’ve learned why that happens. And (Sitka teachers) are much more open to letting us think for ourselves (rather) than just presenting us what information we need to learn. They give us so much more space to hear our own opinions.”
Daniel Asanji, 16, from Cameroon, said he appreciated the fact that students at Sitka High can choose their own classes. “Back home, you don’t choose classes. And you have to stay in the same class for the whole day, and then the teachers are coming in and out, like, teaching for an hour or two hours, sometimes four hours straight.”
Imane Baghouri, 17, from Morocco, said Sitka teachers are vastly more helpful than those back home.
“Because of colonization, we have the same European (educational) systems. So all of us have pretty much the same classes, like the same curriculum,” Baghouri said. “Classes here – for example, Spanish – if I’d learned English the way I learned Spanish, it would have been way better… (Teachers) try to help, they’re also very nice.”
As an observant Muslim, she found the differences between herself and her Sitka high peers presented some difficulties.
“I was kind of struggling with school, not work but... with friends in general. And also with Ramadan, it’s kind of hard to do it away. And especially being the only one doing it, almost. But they’re very supportive. My host mom made a traditional dish from my home country. It was delicious, she’s also very nice,” Baghouri said. She’s currently living with Renee and Matt Trafton, and their daughter Zoe. Renee Trafton is an award-winning chef and owns the Beak Restaurant.
Mašić, also a Muslim, said she finds the fasting requirements of Ramadan difficult in Sitka, especially when combined with training for the track and field season.
“I started off strong, but then after a while, it became harder with track because I joined track,” she said. “It just made me extremely tired and just made me perform not well in my schoolwork and it was just getting harder… I decided to take a break and I’m just going to finish it when I go back home.”
This year, Ramadan began March 22 and lasts until April 20.
The four students are in Sitka under the umbrella of the American Field Service, which began during World War II but introduced an exchange student program in the post-war era, 75 years ago. Since 2001, 80 foreign students from 41 countries have come to Sitka, from places as disparate as Iceland and Thailand to Chile and Ghana.
“I think the biggest misconception for me was that I didn’t really expect Americans to be as friendly as they are,” Mašić said. “I thought they would be more reserved, and have an awkward time before getting to know them. But I don’t think that was the case with me. I found people who opened up immediately, like, welcomed me.”
She also appreciates the small town atmosphere.
“It’s a small place; it’s like a close community. And everything is dependent on volunteers. Which is why we can make or find more volunteer opportunities to get to know more people and make those connections and just contribute something to the community,” she said.
But the process of making friends hasn’t been universally easy for the exchange students.
Like Mašić, Gailite said Sitkans opened up quickly, but didn’t form very deep social bonds.
“They call just everyone a friend, even though I don’t feel I’m friend to that many people,” she said. “... I knew Americans are pretty open-minded. They start talking with you, they’re kind of curious about you at first, but after a while, it just doesn’t get any closer than that with most people… In my culture it just gets closer and closer.”
Baghouri seconded this sentiment
“Everyone can talk to you once and you’re their friend. I think the concept of friendship is kind of different,” she said.
Asanji also recalled difficult times. “I also have some trouble with friendship, because I found out, being an exchange student and having friends, mostly people will try to be nice to you but don’t really want to be friends,” he said.
Mašić was glad for the chance to have a sister with her host family. She’s living with Ariel and Luke Starbuck, and their children, Cedar and Rosie.
“They really made sure to accept me, made me feel like a part of their family. And I’m just so grateful for that. And especially also because I get to finally have my dream of having a sister, which I never had before,” she said.
Asanji’s hosts are Rachel and Nick Pilch, and Gailite lives with Jessica and Thor Christianson.
Mašić said she’ll miss the supportive academic environment she’s found at Sitka High.
“I’m just going to miss the teachers so much. Like the understanding type of teachers. The ones who like to help you.”
For Asanji, a major perk of Sitka has been the weather. Coming from a country where the mercury can easily break into triple digits, he enjoys cold, clear days.
“The weather, not the rain, but the fact that it’s sunny and cold… You can go hiking and don’t get too sweaty, or go on the Cross Trail biking,” he said.
Asanji and Mašić have hiked together as well.
“I think I’m officially the first Bosnian to climb up Verstovia. So I think that was like an accomplishment,” Mašić said.
Last month, Baghouri got the chance to fly to Anchorage to see the start of the Iditarod sled dog race.
“I went to Anchorage to see the Iditarod, which was the most Alaskan experience. It was super cold, but fun,” she said. While there, she saw moose for the first time. In her native language “moose” is “giant American gazelle,” she noted.
The four students are scheduled to depart Sitka and return to their home countries at the close of the school year.
