Catching up with our International Students

By Esther Cross ('24)

This year, our school welcomed three new international students from different cities in China. One of the new students, Yaqi “Jessica” Fang from the city Xuzhou, is a junior and is currently living at my house. It has been so fun and interesting to have her live with my family. We have enjoyed learning about her culture and sharing ours with her. When asked what she enjoys most about her host family, she mentioned how she enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving and spending time getting to know all the family members. Recently, Jessica joined the girl’s basketball team and has enjoyed practicing and learning a new sport. Jessica’s favorite class at Jesse Remington is English class because she can understand it well. She said that the most difficult part about being an International Student is “to adjust to another culture and habit in real life and to try to listen and understand people's jokes.” Overall, Jessica has adapted well to Jesse life and has been a blessing to the community and my family with her laugh, kindness, and sense of humor. 

Jiahui “Esther” Zhou comes from Guangzhou, China. She says her favorite part about Jesse was when we went to Fall Mountain Retreat. She shared, “At FMR I made more friends and played cards and table tennis. And it was very fun. I learned about Eternity” (from Matt Huffman). Currently, she is living with the Comrie family and says that “they are very kind and friendly and they often tell jokes, it is very funny.” Esther is a sophomore at Jesse and has continued to show amazing growth in her understanding of English and her ability to speak. Her difficulty as an international student is “speaking English and writing English. I don’t have the vocabulary words to say [what I want].” Nevertheless, she is the person to go to when it comes to needing a smile or a quick joke, even with a language barrier! When I asked if she had anything else she wanted to say for the Newsletter, she said, “Jesse Remington is good” with a thumbs up, and I would have to agree with her on that.

Our third new international student is Jingxi “Steven” Zheng from the city of Nanjing. His host family is the Carlsons, and he says that he enjoys his family's cooking and that “it is good to have some brothers and sisters.” Steven says that his favorite part about JRHS is the unique campus layout and the “building position for each class. I think it is very interesting, I have never seen it.” He is a freshman at Jesse, and his favorite class is English. He admits, “the hardest parts are to read books and write essays,” which I think most students could agree with. Steven is an especially good student, does well in his studies, and is also a great person to have a conversation with. He is a great addition to the community, and we cannot wait to see what is in store for him!

Yooshin “Kevin” Song from Suwon, South Korea is not a new student but is currently in the middle of his third year at Jesse as a junior. He says that his favorite part of coming to Jesse Remington has been Fall Mountain Retreat because “on the trip we get close with friends, and we talk a lot with friends. We learn about our friends and what they like.” When asked what his favorite class is, he replied that chemistry was his favorite, not because he liked chemistry, but because he enjoys solving a question and being able to say, “I got it!” He says that the hardest part about being an international student is that “sometimes I don't understand some of the words, and some friends don't understand my accent. So, it is hard to connect sometimes even after being here for three years.” Kevin lived with the Michalman family for two years, and he loved spending time with them, saying, “We played board games and sometimes we sang together.” Now Kevin lives with the Woodrow family, and he enjoys watching movies with them. Kevin brings a certain joy to campus, and I can always count on him for a good laugh. He is a kind and wholesome person, and he is a great friend to be around.