A dream come true for Marina
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News-Mirror Photo/Christine Myers
Marina Kleymenova (center) is a foreign exchange student from Kyrgyzstan. She is surrounded by her host family. Front (L-R): Jamie and Nathan Kreiters. Back (L-R): Tom, Marina and Donna Kreiters. |
By Christine Myers
News-Mirror
TIPPECANOE � There are every day catch phrases we all use, almost without thinking.
�Hello, how are you?� is a typical exchange. At the very least, an acknowledging �Good morning.�
There are also catch phrases used when welcoming someone to our home for the first time . . . or perhaps to a new state . . . or even to a new country.
For the Kreiter family, Aug. 3, 2002 encompassed the latter experience. On that Saturday, Tom, Donna and their children welcomed Marina Kleymenova to America at the South Bend Regional Airport. Hugs and greetings were exchanged, luggage was retrieved and loaded and they were off, destined for the Kreiter home in Tippecanoe.
Marina is a 17-year-old exchange student from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where she lives with her grandmother and her parents. Kyrgyzstan is part of the former Soviet Union and is in central Asia. China borders Kyrgyzstan�s southeastern edge and Kazakstan lies to the north.
The small country, comparative to the size of South Dakota, is comprised of mountain ranges, valleys and basins . . . and 4.685 million people. The most abundant resource is hydropower.
The national languages are Kirghiz and Russian. The predominant religion is Muslim with Russian Orthodox mixed in. Bishkek is the nation�s capital, with a population of roughly 800,000. Traveling is mainly done by means of the public transportation systems.
The schooling system is slightly different there than it is here in the U.S. In high school, 11th grade is the highest grade level and there aren�t any electives. In Kyrgyzstan, students take only required courses.
Marina would be in her freshman year in college instead of being a senior at Triton. For her, the experience is worth it.
�I really wanted to come to America and this was my last chance,� she said.
As a foreign exchange student, one has the opportunity to first apply for scholarships from the U.S. government in ninth grade and may continue up until the eleventh. As a senior, Marina�s dream finally came true. She received a scholarship to come to America, with the help of both the AYUSA Global Youth Exchange and Future Leaders Exchange programs.
As part of her commitment to FLEX, Marina has participated in community volunteer work through the Tippecanoe Volunteer Fire Department and the Ladies Auxiliary events. Host parents, Tom and Donna, are active members of these groups. Marina has also spoken at an Amish school.
Other involvements for Marina include taking taekwondo classes in Tippecanoe, playing the piano, drawing, horseback riding (something new) with the Kreiters, and she is thinking of joining the tennis team at Triton. She also helps out with the menagerie of animals and with bailing hay.
Donna wants Marina to participate in 4-H with the family as well. Marina thinks she will do a project with horse and pony, even though she won�t get to show it because she leaves in June. She will be able to finish any project she starts and will be judged on the material turned in. When Marina first arrived, she didn�t like the horses much, but has since changed her mind.
Even though Marina likes everything about America, she still has her favorites. Her favorite food, believe it or not, is doughnuts.
�We don�t have those in my country,� she explained.
She also likes cats and has become particularly attached one of the Kreiters� newest additions to their family, their rescued-from-the-humane-society-cat, Hanna. Hanna is unique. She has one blue eye and one yellow eye. She also has extra digits on both her front and back paws.
Marina has been to the U.S. and other countries before. Her past visit to the U.S. was to attend her sister�s college graduation, after which her dream of visiting America again began. Places she has visited in the U.S. include New York, Washington, Chicago and Fort Wayne.
She really liked Chicago and the city life. Perhaps it reminded her of home. Marina said she hasn�t gotten homesick, though. She doesn�t have time to be homesick. She just enjoys her time here and has fun.
�There�s no reason to be homesick because I�ll be back home soon,� she observed.
Family life at the Kreiters keeps her mind off of home, too. Tom and Donna have four children. Their son, Josh, lives in Warsaw, their daughter Tommi Jo is attending college at Purdue University, their daughter, Jamie, is a senior, and their son, Nathan, is a seventh-grader at Triton.
Future goals for Marina include attending college, where she will study international and comparative politics. She wants to help her country, thus the choice of study. She also has an interest in journalism and may minor in the field.
�My country is developing now and needs more people who can change it,� she explained. �It needs a more democratic society. Right now it�s a Presidential Republic. The system is the same as in America, but it works differently.�
Meeting new people has been a great experience for Marina. So has refining her English skills. This first-time experience for both Marina and the Kreiters has been very positive. The only down side in the whole experience will be when Marina goes home.
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