Junior Slovakian exchange student, Hana JakubÃková, is both adjusting to and appreciating the different learning experience and culture at Minnehaha Academy.
“It definitely is tiring having to speak in a different language the entire day but I think it’s a great learning experience because it forces you out of your comfort zone,” said JakubÃková.
Knowing she wanted to come to America but not for a full year, JakubÃková found Minnehaha to be the best option for herself with the program only lasting for a semester.
At home, JakubÃková attends C.S. Lewis Bilingual High School in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she is required to take every subject and doesn’t get to choose the levels.
“I definitely wanted to come here to focus on subjects I like,” she said. “I really wanted to try something different which is what I found in AP Bio.” Not only does she get to do things in Biology that she rarely can do in Bratislava, but she finds herself enjoying the fact that in America she gets to live with a family all the week rather than dorms during the school week.
Referring to living in dorms during the school week and her parents on the weekend in Slovakia, JakubÃková said, “It taught me to be self sufficient and how to take care of myself, which is what I really enjoy here: living with a family and having dinner you don’t have to make [yourself] everyday.”
Along with the change of living style, JakubÃková is having fun living with the Craig family and experiencing what it is like to have siblings.
Freshman, Elsie Craig said “Hana is a fantastic addition to our family. We are very happy we could open up our home to her.”