Mengli Yang, MHS Chinese foreign exchange student

Also known by her nickname of Judy, 17-year-old Mengli Yang comes to Maricopa from Wuhan, China.

“I am already planning to go to college here, and I want to experience the culture here before college for a year,” Yang said.

In China, Yang attended Wuhan Foreign Language School.

“After three years, we go to college,” she said. “Our high school just has three years.”

Yang said the school day is much shorter in America than at her school in Wuhan, where students arrive at 7:30 a.m. and stay until 8:20 p.m. She said students attend school Monday through Saturday and have several hours of homework each night.

“Education in China is really difficult,” Yang said. “But here, we get out of school at 2 o’clock. It is easy for me.”

The difference between the schedules is significant, Yang said.

“I’m more relaxed here,” she said. “In China, I need to save every second to study. I’m tired every day.”

While Yang has studied English for five years and speaks the language fluently, she is still learning the American slang that her classmates use in everyday conversation.

“Sometimes they are joking about something I can’t understand,” she said.

Yang said the people of Maricopa, including students at the high school, have been friendly. She also said that she likes the scenery and warm climate of Arizona.

“It is very nice here,” Yang said. “We have high buildings and dirty floors everywhere (in China), so everywhere here is very beautiful for me. I took a lot of pictures.”

Yang enjoys reading, playing the piano and surfing the Internet. She said she would like to visit Disneyland and Hollywood.

Photo by Tom Kessler