Each year, Bethany has the opportunity to allow students from Paraguay to attend the school for a semester. This year there are two students, Giovanni Dueck, and Natalia Penner.
Natalia said “I like North America I’m finding it easier to interact with the English students as time goes on.” She did mention the language barrier conflicts with her academics but not as much as it did when she first got here. Natalia surrounds herself with a group of sophomore girl friends and feels that she is welcome in the Bethany community. Her favorite colors are pink and purple and she really like classes with Krysten Parson (KP). A quote to sum up her experience here so far is, “The school is similar to a family and everyone is kind but it is very different here than in Paraguay.”
Giovanni agreed with many of the things Natalia said about adapting to classes. The language barrier keeps him from understanding a few things, especially in English class. He said the class of ‘17 is very kind to him and makes him feel welcome while they sit on the senior couches and talk about things they have in common. Giovanni’s favorite color is blue and he likes many foods here. Natalia is hosted by Veva Mumaw and Giovanni lives with Joel Yoder (‘18) who he met while he was in Paraguay for the first semester of this school year. Bailey Hanton (‘18) also attended Concordia with Joel and had the privilege of meeting Giovanni and Natalia earlier this year.
~Darienne Maust