CULTURE SHOCK S. KOREAN KIDS GET TASTE OF U.S.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer VALENCIA - Far from their South Korean homes, eight exchange students are discovering the curious slang and cheese-pizza lunches of America's teens, living with and shadowing pupils from Arroyo Seco Arroyo Seco (Spanish: "dry creek") may refer to:
Dana DeRousseau, 12, is hosting a 13-year-old boy from the city of Taegu and said that guest's encounter with the routine question ``What's up?'' went unanswered until she and her friends told him the routine answer was ``nothing.'' ``At first I didn't really know what to say or how to bring up a conversation,'' said DeRousseau, recalling Chang Dae Hyun's arrival last weekend. ``But then we found similarities, like video games See video game console. and sports.'' Brought together by the international service Family to Family, the guests and hosts are both experiencing new cultures, but the fact that the young Koreans join their hosts at school each day truly reveals the differences between the two cultures. Twins Max and Dustin Concors, 12, agreed to welcome two exchange students into their home. It was Max and his classmates Classmates can refer to either:
``We we're doing equations, like converting fractions, and Jae just started zipping Compressing one or more files using the PKZIP compression algorithm. See ZIP file. through it,'' Max said of his 15-year-old guest. ``He was a total genius. Nobody could believe it.'' Limited in terms of speaking each other's language, Barbara DeRousseau, Dana's mother, said the Korean culture is by nature more reserved and polite, but nothing a little American fast food couldn't smooth out. ``Chang is very easy to please, but a little shy. But he was certainly thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. with Burger King and McDonald's,'' DeRousseau said. Arroyo Seco Principal Jacque Snyder said the experience has been exciting for the entire school, not just the host families. ``When you read about (other cultures) in a book, it's one thing, but to be able to talk to each other and ask questions, it's really exciting for our kids,'' she said. ``And I've noticed that a lot of the (Korean) kids have taken to pizza and french fries French fry n. A thin strip of potato fried in deep fat. Often used in the plural. .'' Before the teens return to South Korea at the end of the month, chances are their hosts will have them peppering their speech with ``like'' and ``you know'' in no time. As for the American youths learning some Korean, Max Concors said he and his friends have mastered the phrases ``you're nice'' and ``you're mean,'' but admitted that they simply say the words because they like how they sound. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Hyunji Kim, 14, Lauren Dalley, 12, and Nancy Myers, 12, team up to solve some of Lauren's schoolwork Friday afternoon at Arroyo Seco Junior High. (2) Oh Ju Yung listens to a teacher's instructions during a history class Friday. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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