Far from home: Coming from India

Divya Ramavath plays volleyball and participates in leadership, but what makes this student extra special is that she is a foreign exchange from India.

Ramavath said that she loves leadership because it involves meeting new friends, communication, and doing volunteer work. She said that she is happy to communicate with others because she believes that it makes her a better person and that good communication skills equal good friends.

Her old school did not have leadership and that school in India was different. Kids in India are not allowed to bring phones to school and they don´t get computers. Even the teachers wouldn’t teach with computers.

Ramavath is adapting to America pretty well. She said that she does not feel any type of homesickness and that she loves America.

She came to America was because she wanted to experience the American education system, see how other people our age study and cope with school and she would love to “grab” as much of the American experience she can. When her exchange program is done, she said that she would love to come back to America.

One part of American culture she experienced was Halloween. She enjoyed the costumes and house decorations.

When she was in India, she would do a lot of household work, while her mom did agricultural work. She loves to help her mom and dad out a lot because they sacrificed a lot of things for her and her brother.

Ramavath wants to become a police officer. She has already learned the traffic rules in California and even set up appointments to have meetings with the police community. Her host family has been very helpful to her with her future goal. She says one day she wants to make a difference in India and help India become a developed country.