Zeynep Ebru Arısoy

I feel so lucky because my host family was so welcoming and they made this experience more important for me. My host mom Christa and my host sister Milly was always so kind to me and I enjoyed every second that I spent with them. The first day, when we came to Duluth, we went to bowling and I met with a lot of new people. Making new friends was the most fun part of this experience! I made foreign friends and also I got closer with the other exchange students from my school. While making friends I felt that my English was improving and also I felt more confident. We did a presentation infront of the whole school and I felt really comfortable. We talked about Turkey and we gave some information about our country, talked about our culture and traditions so that the Marshall students can learn a little bit about Turkey. Christa and Milly took me to the largest unsalted water aquarium, I saw a lots of differenf kinds of fish, it was amazing. We went to the National Wolf Center, seeing the wolves was so exciting and I thought that they were beautiful and pretty. Also, we went to a little town named Ely and did dog sledding and I tried to ski. It was so much fun! I had the opportunitiy to do some activities that I can't do in Turkey. I was able to see the differences in the education system. The lessons were different from ours, and because of that I learned a lots of new stuff. I realised that sports was really important in America and a lot of people are interested in sport activites. Spending time watching basketball matches in school and also spending time with my friends at the same time was awesome. Milly was in orchestra so I listened to different kinds of music when they were playing. I made them listen to some Turkish music so they have an idea about it too. I was really happy when they said that they loved it. Other than that, Christa told me stories about native American's and I was really interested in it. They took me to shopping and we spent time together and not only in Duluth, they took me to The Cities so I can saw that place too and go and spend time in Mall Of America. I'll never forget when we went to see a movie with Milly. It was great, we really had fun. I'm really thankfull for everything they did for me. Most importantly, they made me feel like I was in home. I know that I have a second family at other side of the world and it means everything to me. I hope that someday they'll come to Turkey so I can make them eat all the delicious food I told them about. 

- Zeynep Ebru Arısoy 

From Timm Family

Over this exchange, I had a ton of fun getting to know her! Our weeks together were full of laughter and discussion of music especially. I hope I ger the chance to see her again and become even better friends with her.

- Milly Timm

Having Zeynep with us has been such a joy! I've learned the following:

Zeynep means 'father's jewel'

Zeynep's parents have matching tattoos

She loves her friends and thinks of them more than she does herself

She loves Turkey, her school, her family, and her sister Oyku

Zeynep is a very accepting and open person

She has confidence in herself, and trusts in others

She likes cards

She loves hip hop and rap, and loves to dance

She shared herself and her heart with us on the first day she was here, because that is who she is. 

Our family is so thankful to have her in our lives! 

-Christa Knudsen