Robert Guo thinks some of his San Benito High School classmates
have
”
interesting
”
hair styles. Guo, a native of China, isn’t quite used to seeing
spiked locks and blue hair just yet, but he still thinks that’s
part of what makes America great.
Hollister – Robert Guo thinks some of his San Benito High School classmates have “interesting” hair styles. Guo, a native of China, isn’t quite used to seeing spiked locks and blue hair just yet, but he still thinks that’s part of what makes America great.
“In Asia, the culture is smaller. Here people are more open-minded and outgoing. That’s the biggest difference,” he said. “I’m lucky because I got to come to California. The people are (especially) open-minded here.”
Guo, a high school junior, is in the middle of a semester abroad in the United States, which he has spent studying at SBHS. Growing up as an only child near Beijing, he’s had to make numerous adjustments since coming to the US, including living with the two small children in his host family, and taking six solid classes taught in English.
Neither of these have been a problem, though. He said the children he lives with are great, and he’s getting a 4.17 Grade Point Average in school, so the language barrier seems close to nonexistent.
Guo gets A’s or A-pluses in all his classes, according to Ruth Erickson of Academic Year in the USA (AYUSA), the program he is studying through. His classes include biology, English, calculus, US history, and Spanish. Yes, Spanish.
“Can you even imagine taking six solid courses?” said Erickson. “I mean, do you know any student who does that?”
Erickson said students who come to SBHS through AYUSA usually fare well academically, but very few get the high grades Guo does across the board. Especially ones who go straight from class to after-school soccer practice.
Guo, who also happens to be SBHS’s student of the week, said he hasn’t thought about exactly what he wants to do after his jam-packed time in Hollister. He would like to try to spend an additional semester in the US, but, he said, it probably won’t happen.
Erickson also said it’s difficult logistically to keep students in the US for the whole year, and Guo will probably go back to China in December.
Still, he will be glad to get back home.
“I miss my parents, my teachers, and my classmates, obviously. But they all know what a great opportunity I have being here,” he said.
After he graduates next year, Guo would like to attend college in the US. “Or in China,” he said. “They have some very good schools there.”
Guo said he has plenty of time to think about any specific choices for college and the future, adding that he hadn’t even thought about what job he’d like to have one day, but becoming a lawyer had crossed his mind.
“We’ll see,” he said.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
