Foreign exchange student Trang Nguyen from Vietnam

Also known by her nickname of Cami, 17-year-old Trang Nguyen is enjoying her senior year of high school at Maricopa. She is from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, an area she describes as “beautiful country.”

Nguyen, who has two sisters and a brother, said she wanted to visit the United States, “because I like challenging, new things and I want to learn more about American culture.”

Asked about her initial perception of Arizona, Nguyen said, “Everything is so nice. Everything is big here, with a lot of cars. Not like our country. Our country just has motorcycles.”

Nguyen said she enjoys the scenery of the Arizona landscape, especially the mountains. She also likes American food and has had the opportunity to do some cooking.

Nguyen played for the senior team in the Maricopa High School senior-junior powder puff football game that took place during Homecoming Week.

“I played on offense,” she said, describing the experience as one of the most fun activities she has participated in.

In the classroom, Nguyen says her schoolwork at Maricopa is easier than what she is used to in Vietnam.

“There is not as much work,” she said.

Nguyen said she is hoping to come back to America to study finance at a four-year college.
She also would like to visit Disneyland and wants to continue to experience other United States cultural phenomena.

“My favorite TV show in America is ‘The Simpsons,’” Nguyen said, adding that the animated comedy is not on the air in Vietnam.

Photo by Tom Kessler

Next: Sorawit Thumniam from Bangkok,Thailand