Hawken Welcomes Exchange Students from Maru-a-Pula

If Sally Madiba and Valentina Muraleedharan are experiencing pangs of anxiety or homesickness, their bright, relaxed smiles conceal it well. Perhaps it is their sense of good fortune that keeps their spirits so high; neither one had a second thought about coming to the U.S. upon finding out they had been chosen for the scholarship. This is the second year that Hawken, one of seven independent schools nationwide that participates in an exchange program with Maru-a-Pula, has welcomed two students from Botswana. Choosing from among the top 40 students in the senior class, administrators at Maru-a-Pula ultimately select ten students to study abroad for a thirteenth year. To determine where each student will study, they attempt to match the students` personalities with that of the school. Hawken should be highly complimented. These girls are bright, happy, intelligent and extremely engaged both socially and academically. Watching them interact on campus, one would never know that they just set foot in this country for the first time just weeks ago. Talk about an adventure. Sally had never been on an airplane before - and never expected to be chosen for the scholarship, having been a student at Maru-a-pula for only one full year prior to selection time. So when she heard the good news, her only thought was "I am going!" And while Valentina has traveled over the years, this is her first visit to the United States. "I was having lunch with my cousin when I first heard the news that I had been chosen; I was so overwhelmed because it was what I had wanted for so long." The girls are fully immersed in American life. Sally lives with the Foster family and their four children and joins host "sister" Sarah at the Gates Mills campus. Valentina lives with the Jacobsons and their two children, who are at our Lyndhurst campus. The girls` schedules are full and challenging. Sally is taking AP chemistry, loves science and imagines herself ultimately doing some kind of research or engineering. Valentina loves drama, hopes to participate in numerous productions including the winter musical, and dreams of someday working for the United Nations. Both girls plan to attend college in the United States and are about to begin the college search in earnest. Sally has plans to visit Northwestern and the University of Chicago with her host family; Valentina notes that her host family is "keen on taking me on college visits in New England very soon." What have been their biggest challenges so far? Both girls agree it is the workload, which is significantly greater than it was at their previous school. The food is also very different; Sally comments that "the only thing that reminds me of home is a hamburger." Neither of the girls has ever seen or felt snow or lived through a Cleveland winter, so their biggest surprise is perhaps yet to come. No matter what challenges they happen to face, these girls are sure to weather them well. They credit their seemingly effortless adjustment to the warm welcome they have received, their appreciation for this opportunity, their adaptability, and their friendship. Valentina explains, "I laugh a lot! I laugh at everything!" -- and then adds, "I think we are happy because we have each other." Having each other means that they can share their wide-eyed excitement over smartboards. They can jointly turn their noses up at the strange tasting food. They can laugh at their childlike delight over traveling to school on those funny yellow buses they used to see only TV. Of the ten Maru-a-Pula students studying abroad this year, Sally and Valentina are the only ones who were paired together at the same school. "So out of everybody," says Valentina with a radiant smile, "We are the luckiest." Many in our community would challenge that sentiment by simply pointing out that we are the lucky ones.