The beginning of the school year brings new faces and friendships. This year, Tualatin High School (TuHS) is hosting three exchange students: two from Barcelona, Spain – Olivia Casals and Oriol Quiles – along with Derin Dikkaya from Izmir, Turkey. Both Casals and Quiles are sophomores, and Dikkaya is a junior.  The Wolf decided it would be great to get to know a little more about these students and their opinions on TuHS.

Why did you want to be an exchange student?

Casals: “To meet new people, learn more English, know more about American culture and live a new experience.” 

Quiles: “I wanted to visit new places/people/food in the world, and also improve my English.” 

Dikkaya: “Because it’s fun and I’m learning so many things from another country, like culture.” 

What’s your favorite part of high school so far?

C: “The sports (cheerleading) and that you get to choose electives.” 

Q: “The teachers are very friendly, and also the auditorium is amazing.” 

D: “Lessons.” 

Have you noticed any differences between America and where you’re from?

C: “Everything is bigger (portions of food, houses, schools).”

Q: “Yes, here in the US the distance between two things is so big that you always have to take the car. In Barcelona, you can easily go by foot. Sports are so important to the U.S.  You have three big gyms, lots of football fields, soccer fields, baseball fields, etc. You are so lucky. Your school has many facilities so that each student can choose the ones they like the most.” 

D: “It has so many things I can’t say them all.”

What’s your favorite part of America so far? 

C: “Meeting new people and seeing different things that we don’t have back in Spain.”

Q: “If we are talking about a place, I would say that I loved going to the Pacific Ocean because I had never seen it. But if we talk about something in general, I would say that people are very open. I like that.”

D: “California.”

All three of the exchange students will stay here to finish out the rest of the year before heading back to their home countries to continue learning.