Maria "Africa" Martinez traveled a long way to be a student at Orange High School this year. She originally hails from Spain, but will be spending her junior year as a foreign exchange student living with a host family in Efland, NC. During her time at OHS, Martinez is making the most of the experience by making new friends, adjusting to class changes, and participating in school activities.
Martinez shared her feelings on being a foreign exchange student at Orange. “It’s not the worst,” she replied with a smile and joking tone. “It’s very nice, with nice people who come and talk to me, especially when they find out that I’m from another country… It’s very different from my old school in Spain. We are in the same class from 9 am to 5 pm with the same people. [At OHS] I change a class every hour and a half.”
Martinez states, “Lifetime Sports is my favorite class because it’s more of a social class... where I can talk more with friends.” Martinez has gotten used to her new schedule. She says, “My classes are going surprisingly well. Everyone is very nice and makes sure I understand almost everything. The teachers even stop during class, to make sure that I just understood what they just said. Orange High School is a very nice school to be at!”
Martinez played on the Junior Class Team at the Liner Powder Bowl on Sept. 17, where she had the opportunity to play flag football against the Senior Class Team.
For the 2013-2014 school year, OHS is also hosting three more foreign exchange students: Cami Urrutia from Chile, Ines Soffer from France, and Chin-Yi Lin, who most call “Joyce,” from Taiwan. OHS has a rich history of welcoming foreign exchange students into the Panther family. In previous years, students from Thailand, Norway, Mexico, Germany, Japan, China, Sweden, Finland, and Yugoslavia, have graced the halls of Orange.
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