A New Face in Hanover
I was recently walking down the hall with a girl I had just met in my Journalism class. A pretty girl with impeccable fashion sense and butterfly tattoos, she struck me as an interesting character. In her hands, she held a lump of something her cross country teammates had given her. She examined it with a puzzled expression.
“What is this?” she asked, catching me by surprise.
“A rice krispie treat. You’ve never had one?” I replied. Indeed, my new friend had never seen this snack, since it doesn’t exist where she’s from.
Elif Doganyigit is not your typical Hanover High School student. With the help of the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program, she flew to Hanover, New Hampshire all the way from Istanbul, Turkey to study abroad. Her intent was to learn to live like an American and further understand our culture. She also hopes to improve her English, which she started learning in elementary school. She is staying with senior Phoebe Cullen. Phoebe studied in Istanbul last year.
Turkey is a country in Europe that has been populated since the Paleolithic Age. It has a population that is less than a fourth of the United States’. Out of 81 provinces, Elif comes from the largest one in the country: Istanbul. Most of Turkey is sparsely populated; however, Istanbul is a largely packed city. Considering our area’s low population density, her arrival in the Upper Valley gave Elif quite a shock!
Despite the lack of shopping malls, city bustle, and cliché American cheerleaders that she had expected, Elif has been impressed with Hanover so far. Although her last school didn’t give its students homework, she prefers the teachers here. “They are better than my previous teachers. They are very friendly.” According to her, she doesn’t have a favorite teacher because she likes all of them, although Mr. Jenisch in particular has been very helpful.
Hanover has also given Elif new opportunities that her old school didn’t provide. Back in Istanbul, it is not as important or expected that girls participate in a sport. That was something that changed for Elif when she came here. Despite not being athletic, she decided to sign up for cross-country to further immerse herself in the life of an American teenager. She also decided to take advantage of HHS’s unique opportunities by running for Council; she was recently elected as a new student representative.
At Hanover, Elif is taking Health, US History, Anatomy and Physiology, and Algebra II. She is also taking Drama because of her love of acting. Elif decided not to take orchestra, despite her experience with the violin, so that she could focus more on her academics. Her biggest goal is to graduate this year, as a junior. Obtaining the necessary credits is her number one focus. She spends much of her free time in the library studying.
Elif looks forward to making many new friends and getting her American diploma. She is a very fun girl and I especially look forward to becoming better friends with her as the year goes on.