I had the pleasure of talking with Anna Epishkina and Yuliya GrefenyLik both juniors at Monmouth Academy. Anna and Yuliya are exchange students from Russia through the Open Russian Ambassador Program. This program is set up to break stereotypes. To get into this program they had to complete three levels; a series of SAT formed English tests, essays about their character and finally an interview. At the end of last summer, after they got accepted, they went to a camp. At this camp they learned about politics, stereotypes, and how people think and act. They weren’t told where in the U.S. they were going until they arrived at the airport, so along with everything, there was that one question, what to pack?

Anna, 15 years old, lives in Achinsk, in the Krasnoyarsk region with-her Mother Stepfather and younger brother. She went to a big music school in her large town. She is learning French and Spanish. She loves to sing and go to the movies. Most of all, she loves to travel. She has been to Switzerland, England twice, Australia, Thailand twice, Hungary, Singapore and different parts of Russia. Since she has arrived in Maine she liked going to The Portland Art Museum, New Hampshire and Vermont. So far she has enjoyed the holidays, and the food. She is looking forward to prom, the talent show, and her trip with her host family to Disneyland. When asked what is the most different in the U.S compared to Russia she quickly responded: television.

Yuliya is a 16-year-old only child who lives with her parents in Naberezhnye Chelny in the European Region. In her big town she attended a small private school. She enjoys dance, reading and theatre. She acted in the fall drama production of Arsenic and Old Lace. Yuliya loves to meet new people. In her opinion, the schools are the most different between Russia and the U.S. So far she has mostly enjoyed going to all of the different places with the school, such as Salem and MOBY. She also enjoyed going to the Boston theatre and visiting Harvard with her host sister Brittny. She is looking forward to the annual Spaghetti Bridges.

Yuliya and Anna are both amazing girls. Monmouth Academy is very blessed to have them as students for a year and will regret seeing them leave at the end of the school year. I wish the best to them when they return to their home. I also thank them for this chance to learn more about them.