Lexington High School - Crystal Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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Javier Bodillo plays a challenging game of ping pong during this Advanced P.E. class. Chad Coleman helps Masaki Shibaake with some translation for U.S. History. 24 Foreign Exchange Students Cultural Exchange Exchange students have become more prevalent throughout the years at LHS. This year, we have had students from such countries as Puerto Rico, Japan, and Germany. They have taught us more about their cultures and in re- turn we have taught them about ours. They have had to adapt to the different holidays, food, and slang. What do they enjoy doing? Javier Badillo, a junior from Puerto Rico played on the LHS basketball team. He was a very supportive participant in school activities. When asked his feel- ings towards Lexington, Javier re- sponded that Lexington was very small but he enjoyed meeting people and making new friends. He also admitted that he missed the beach back in Puerto Rico. Only able to stay one semester, Javier returned to Puerto RICO. Masaki Shibaake is a senior who came to LHS from Japan. He is very ac- tive in school activities. He plays the percussion instruments in the concert and marching bands and is a member of the varsity baseball team. | Many of us don't realize how confus- | ‘ing being an exchange student from| Japan could possibly be. Mixups with | language translations happened daily. | One occasion occurred on Thanksgiv- | ing day when Masaki thought of it as a) holiday for exchanging and Chad Cole- man received a gift. Severin Mannke is a senior from Ger- many and enjoys acting. He partici- | pated in the school play ‘Attack of the | Killer Mutants” and portrayed the) mutant’s father. : Being an exchange student is a time. to learn the differences between the two cultures and meet new friends. It's not easy going to a different country but the experience is worth all the work. — Robin Gaines J

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It's A Boy! This year the SCA decided to involve the student body in something com- pletely new to Lexington High in the sponsorship of a foster child. As sponsors not only were we given the chance to establish a friendship with a child of a foreign land but also we were given the opportunity to better the life of a child and his family through educational as well as health pro- grams. First periods were involved in the choosing of the child’s sex and his na- tionality. When all votes were in the students had decided on a boy or girl from the country of Thailand. Several weeks later after all the paperwork had been processed we received a packet from Foster Parents Plan International introducing our child Panya Thiab- kham. Panya Thiabkham is ten years old. His birthdate is April 8, 1979, and he is of the Buddhist religion. Panya’s family is comprised of a mother, Buala, a father, | Thongsuk, a younger sister Nitaya and a grandmother Nookan. Panya is 3’10” | and weighs 46 pounds. He is an excel- lent student in the second grade and his favorite subject is arithmetic. At home his main responsibility is tend- ing buffaloes. The Thiabkham family lives in the Sok Kao village, a province of Nahasarak- ham which is in the Northeast of Thai- land. People there make a living pri- marily through rice farming as does Panya’s family. The Thiabkham’s monthly income is around $18.30. Annually, their major expenses include $7.69 for the children’s education, $1.92 for clothing, $3.85 for medical care, and $24.20 for fertilizer. Although we are doing just a small part for the betterment of Panya’s life we must understand that every little bit helps bring a bit of comfort to a boy from an impoverished nation where clean water is a luxury and every day is a struggle. Through this program LHS learned that we do make the differ- ence. — Jenny Ruley | MAHA SARAKHAM = ® WORLD SPOp Thai: Sawatdee. Pen yang-ngai bang? Wang wa nu khong sabai dee. Ja raw fang Khao Jak nu. Khorb khun maak, Panya Thiabkhnam English: Hello. How are you? | hope you are doing well. | am looking forward to your letter. Thank you very much, Panya Thiabkham The country of Maha Sarakham in relation to the United States is a little less than the combined size of Arizona and Utah. « Adopted Child 23

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PGR SR REAAY Nathan Heatley and Glen Piegari stand with Masaki Shibaake after his performance in the concert band. Severin Mahnke takes a quick break from his work to model for the camera. Foreign Exchange Students 25