Foreign students make themselves home at Palo Verde

Top row from left, Johanna Poetter, Germany; Thanapon Iamsa-ard, Thailand; Dominik Schmid-Paech, Germany; Joana Gasperska, Poland; Valeska Knispel, Germany; and bottom row, from left, Risa Hirata, Japan; Lizeth Barrero-Ruiz, Colombia; and Shiqing He, China; stand in the courtyard of Palo Verde High School.

By Jeff O'Brien

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 | midnight

For eight teenagers hailing from around the globe, this year at Palo Verde High School will be one to remember.

The school's 10th annual foreign exchange program is under way and counselor Todd Steffenhagen said the group is fitting right in with the 3,400 students at Palo Verde.

"Our school is huge compared to those in many European countries," Steffenhagen said. "Palo Verde is bigger than some of their hometowns, so the size of our campus can be intimidating. But they are so mature and handle themselves so well."

This year's group of foreign exchange students includes three from Germany and one apiece from Poland, Colombia, China, Japan and Thailand.

The students have been assigned to host families who live near the campus and volunteered to be involved in the program, Steffenhagen said.

Dominik Schmid-Paech, a 16-year-old senior from Germany, said he was surprised at what Las Vegas has to offer beyond the Strip and how many people call this valley home.

"The Strip is the first thing you notice," Dominik said. "My first thought was 'boom!' I'd never seen anything like that. All the lights and everything."

Eighteen-year-old Joana Gasperska, whose school in Poland had an enrollment of 800 students, said her toughest class this year is U.S. History and Government.

When she's not in class, she's getting a crash course on American cooking from her host family — Theresa Gonsalves and her 18-year-old son, Mychal Oliver — who have been living in Summerlin since 1999.

"I figured that since I'm a single mom with three adults in the house, each of us can take two nights a week where we cook dinner," Gonsalves said.

Joana said her kitchen expertise was somewhat limited prior to coming to America, but she's been giving it her best effort.

"She made some American stuff last night," Gonsalves said. "Steak and French fries. We're waiting on the Polish stuff, though. I'm sure it will be good, but she's nervous because she thinks we won't like it."

Risa Hirata, a 17-year-old senior from Japan, said she was surprised to see kids at Palo Verde with piercings, colored hair and flashy clothing.

"At my school in Japan we can't wear makeup or dye our hair," Risa said. "Here you can do a lot of that. We had to wear uniforms."

Stacie and Marc Levey of Summerlin are Risa's host family and said their guest's mastery of English is impressive.

"She gets along great with Brenden, my 5-year-old son," Stacie Levey said. "They're always playing together."

Risa also sings on the school choir and hopes to try out for one of the sports teams in the winter.

"In Japan she played badminton, but Palo Verde doesn't have a badminton team," Stacie Levey said.

Far from being shy, the foreign exchange students are diving right into clubs and extracurricular activities, Steffenhagen said.

Shiqing He, a 16-year-old junior from China, has been making bowls and bottles in her ceramics class and 16-year-old junior Valeska Knispel from Germany plans to try out for the Palo Verde High School girl's volleyball team.

The students agreed that this year spent in America will have long-lasting benefits.

"I'll feel a lot more confident when I go back home," Dominik said. "It will help with jobs and university applications."

"I'm really learning how to be independent and take care of myself," Shiqing said.

Some of the students' parents end up visiting Las Vegas in May, roughly a month before they head back home, Steffenhagen said.

"Often times the host families here in Las Vegas end up going over to their student's country for a visit," he said.

While living in Ohio in 2002, Stacie Levey and her husband also hosted a Japanese exchange student for one year.

"I was an exchange student myself in high school," she said. "I went to Finland during my senior year, so I always told myself that I'd give back."

Jeff O’Brien can be reached at 990-8957 or jeff.obrien@hbcpub.com.