BY WILL KEMPER
Almost every year, Mariemont has at least one foreign exchange student. This year, Mariemont has two unique students, Sebastian Delgado and Roope Lassila. It’s time we learn more about them.
Senora Timmerding, adviser of AFS club, says she is excited to have these two young men attend Mariemont. “Last year was sad because we didn’t have any exchange students. I’m very excited to have two of our own foreign exchange students this year.” says Timmerding.
Sebastian is an eighteen year-old from Caracas, Venezuela. Sebastian first came to the United States in eighth grade to learn more about American culture. On his first visit to the US, His host family was the Wagner’s.
One big influence on Sebastian’s decision to come to the United States was his brother. Sebastian’s brother, Juan Delgado, came to the United States in 2012 to study English at the University of Cincinnati. While at UC, Juan met Henry’s older brother, Nate, through his club swimming team. This is when the Wagner-Delgado connection started.
Sebastian says, “I love Henry and Nate. They are very funny and take me to new places.” This year, the Wagner’s invited Sebastian to come back to Mariemont for his senior year.
Senior Henry Wagner, friend and host brother of Sebastian, says he is excited that Sebastian could come back for his senior year. Wagner has had fun memories with his friend Sebastian.
“Sebastian has very strange eating habits. Today I saw him put a cupcake in a glass of milk and eat it with a spoon. I’ve also seen him put chocolate on his popcorn.” says Henry. “Sebastian sleeps a lot, too. On weekends he wakes up around 1:00 pm”, Henry added.
Sebastian is a member of the swim team. Swimming is a hobby that Sebastian enjoyed in Venezuela and he decided to continue this hobby in the United States. He has made many new friends through the team.
Coming all the way from Jyvaskyla, Finland, Roope Lassila plans to make new friends and learn more about American culture. Roope lives with the Rolander’s. Roope’s reasoning behind his decision to study in the US was influence from family members. Roope says, “My brother was an exchange student last year and it influenced me to come, and my mom kept telling me to come.”
Roope’s brother, Ville, came to Mariemont last year on AFS Day and shared his experience with MHS the Spanish classes.
So far, Roope has had a fun experience in Ohio. The one big difference to him is the weather. “It is much warmer here than Finland. I would prefer the summer here, but the winter is much better in Finland.” says Lassila. “Finland has great skiing weather and ski resorts.” Lassila added.
Roope’s extracurricular activities include hockey, skiing, wake boarding, and sailing. Roope currently plays hockey for the Indian Hill Winter Club.
Henry Rolander, host brother of Roope, says he is excited to have a new friend stay with him. “We first got the idea to host am AFS member when the Michaelsons hosted Erdal,” says Rolander. Erdal Fere was an exchange student from Finland who came to Mariemont in 2014 and lived with Nate and his family.
Junior Nate Michaelson said, “It was fun hosting an exchange student. Our family friends, the Rolanders, thought it was a great idea, so we told them about AFS.”
Rolander also had a few fun facts about Roope. “Roope really likes rye bread and fish, but he is allergic to peanuts.” Rolander added, “We also play on the same hockey team. Although it’s his first year playing ice hockey, he is pretty good.”
Senora Timmerding says, “To learn more about these foreign exchange students or about AFS club, come to the AFS day on March 2 from 3:00-5:00 in C20.”