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Gaining new experiences from start to Finnish
Exchange student catches on to life in St. Mary's
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by REID SILVERMAN
Leonardtown High School teacher Tammy Parsons, left, helps Finnish exchange student Saana N‰reaho, 17, in a sewing assignment.
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Saana N‰reaho came to St. Mary's in search of a rural culture in a new land. The exchange student from Finland said so far she has found what she was looking for and has garnered a few life lessons along the way.
The 17-year-old is staying with the Lent family in Loveville for an entire school year, attending Leonardtown High School with her host family sister, Missee Lent.
Mother Marcia Lent said it is a thrill to host the Finnish teenager.
"She's my daughter now," Marcia Lent said. "She is one of us."
N‰reaho has attended several different churches with her host family. She is picking up some American customs, she said, but still enjoying the letters and care packages she gets from home.
N‰reaho said she has called home to her parents less and less each month, although she hasn't gone more than about one week without talking to them.
She also sends home long letters talking about her experiences in St. Mary's County.
She said she likes school, although it is different here and has been a little hard for her to adjust.
"It's so big here," she said.
Most all of the students have been nice to her, she said. Some ask her questions about Finland when they discover she is an exchange student, but many just say "cool," and move on, N‰reaho said.
In Finland, N‰reaho said they do not have daily quizzes in school. Instead, they take five weeks of a subject and then a week of exams.
Also, "we pick our own schedule, some days we're there for eight hours and some days two hours," N‰reaho said, similar to American colleges. As high school students they use public transportation.
N‰reaho said she came here with several goals, mainly to better learn the English language and to meet people from a different country.
She has learned some other lessons, too. "Here I can't whine all the time. I'm going to think before I just say something," she said.
The teenager said that in her home country she was very outgoing and boisterous. Here she has quieted down, she said, at least most of the time, and become more observant.
The Lents are "staunch Republicans" and very conservative, Marcia Lent said. Having N‰reaho in their home has given them a different perspective, she said.
"It's not just opened our eyes to cultural differences as it has personal differences," the mother said. They are not trying to change each other, but to introduce each other to new beliefs and customs.
The Lents' daughter Michelle, 16, is in Italy this school year through a different exchange program than N‰reaho, who is participating through the agency AFS, formerly called the American Field Service.
"We're just doing it at the same time. We just happened to have an empty bed," the mother said.
Michelle Lent, 16, would be a junior at Leonardtown High School this year. Her studies in Italy will not count toward her high school diploma, so instead she plans to take a double load of courses next year so that she will still graduate with her class.
The exchange year offered a good option for Michelle Lent, who her mother said was bored in school and considering other options to a full senior year.
"She had to show us she could make her own decisions," the mother said.
The family is hoping to visit their daughter's host family in Italy and N‰reaho's family in Finland after the exchange period is completed. The exchange agencies heavily advise against families visiting their children during the exchange period
Often the exchange students pay their own way and a trip can cost $10,000 or more for the year.
Michelle Lent "sold" newsletters as a way to raise money for her trip to Italy. Anyone who contributed is on a distribution list and will receive at least five updates of her travel time in Italy.
While there a devastating earthquake hit central Italy. When Michelle's parents heard about the natural disaster, they remained calm and quickly received a call from the exchange agency saying that their daughter, who is living in northern Italy, was OK.
"There's no sense assuming something's wrong until you have the evidence," Marcia Lent said.
Marcia said being an exchange student was something she always wanted to do.
She is happy her daughter was able to participate in a program, even though it meant she would be separated from her family for the year.
"Michelle has had a lifetime of experiences in Italy," she said.
