Samohi students lost in translation in Argentina
When Nafiesa Imlani first stepped onto the campus here, it was like walking into a whole new world.
Coming from a small 600 student-body school in the Philippines, Santa Monica High School looked like it was in a league of its own.
“They don’t have school uniforms,” the 16-year-old high school student said.
Such was the culture shock the teenager from Mindanao experienced upon arriving in Santa Monica last year as part of a year-long foreign exchange program with AFS, which places young adults with host families from across the country.
Imlani stayed with Samohi student Ariel Bandasch and her mother, Cheryl Downey, who is the executive director of the Costume Designers Guild IATSE Local 892. She is one of a handful of international students who come to the city every year through various foreign exchange programs to study the American way of life, attending the local school, learning the language and appreciating the culture.
The tuition for the program ranges from $5,900 to $11,000, depending on whether the student is interested in a summer, semester or year-long stay, covering essentials such as the airfare, transportation to and from the host family, and health insurance. The cost of room and board is provided by the host family.
The experience is often described as eye-opening by many participants who gain a new perspective on foreign cultures. The same goes for the family that hosts international students, according to Tracy Winters, the western regional director for AFS.
336,“They look at the world in a new way and are much more open to how they perceive the world,” Winters said.
Participation in the program is also said to be a major boost for students with college aspirations.
AFS recruiters find host families by canvassing communities across the country, promoting the programs to both new and veteran families who have already housed a student.
For Downey, hosting Imlani was a way to give back to a program in which she had participated in high school when she stayed in Finland.
Imlani said she decided to study overseas after a classmate who joined AFS the previous year came back with rave reviews. Coming from a poor family, Imlani was able to receive a full scholarship.
She admitted the stay was difficult at first, the teen self-conscious about her English speaking skills.
The most challenging task was embracing American culture, she said.
“It was very different from mine,” she said. “There were so many new and different things but at the end of the day, I changed for the better.”
Times away from school were spent with the family, attending Sunday service at church — even though Imlani is Muslim — and visiting Downey’s family out-of-state.
The religious differences never became an issue as both sides accepted each other’s beliefs. At the end of her stay, Imlani made a speech bidding farewell to the entire church congregation.
“She was very much part of the community,” Downey said.
Imlani also connected with other international students in the area through the Venice chapter of AFS, which covers West L.A., Santa Monica and Malibu.
The group gatherings with other AFS students not only provided a support network, but presented opportunities to make friends with teenagers from other countries.
It’s there that she met friends like Boom-Nattawut Wetprasit, a student from Thailand who stayed in Playa Del Rey.
Wetprasit came to the United States to learn English and experience the American dream.
While he still has a Thai accent, Wetprasit said his English has improved.
“My overall experience was phenomenal,” he said.
Both Wetprasit and Imlani returned home at the beginning of the summer.
“I had a blast spending time with my mom Cheryl and sister Ariel and got new friends from all over the world, so it was worth it,” Imlani said.
Studying abroad runs in Downey’s family — her eldest son studied in Finland and her daughter is currently in Argentina for a semester program.
Bandasch said it was her turn to go.
She went to Argentina with a basic foundation of Spanish, knowing some verbs and a lot of nouns. The only difficulty is stringing them together, Bandasch said.
About a month into her stay, the Samohi student said she is still experiencing culture shock.
“Being far away is different from being a tourist,” Bandasch said. “As a tourist, you only see the tip of the iceberg, but as an AFS’er, you get to see the whole iceberg because you live there and experience what the culture is like.”
Jump hedline: Samohi students lost in translation in Argentina
Suggested pullquote: “They look at the world in a new way and are much more open to how they perceive the world.”
Tracy Winters western regional director, AFS
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 27, 2008. Read the original PDF.