Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the Youth Exchange Program run by the Maple Grove Rotary Club has allowed a handful of students to get a firsthand account of life in other countries. “It’s really a joint effort between Rotary clubs throughout the world. Not only do we have to make the effort locally, we also have to find a supporting club on the other side,” local Rotary member Jason Bauerly says, noting past exchange students have come from Norway, Chile and South Africa, to name a few.
This year, three Maple Grove families are hosting Kwang, a 17-year-old student from Bangkok, Thailand. She arrived in August, just in time to start her senior year at Maple Grove Senior High. Kwang noticed differences between school systems right away, most notably that her Thailand public school is all-girls. There, she says, all the students wear the same uniform and hair style, and cannot chew gum or wear makeup or nail polish to school. Another difference is her course load. In Bangkok, every student must choose a major field of study by 10th grade and start to take classes on the competitive path to a university. Kwang, along with 42 other students in her class, is a math major. In each major, students take the same classes together until they finish high school.
During her stay, Kwang has picked up on American slang, rejoiced at the traffic-free streets of Maple Grove that are unlike the busy streets of Bangkok, enjoyed shopping with friends, and gained an appreciation for nature and the outdoors.
